Shadow Of A Scout
by StrkHwk
Summary: A new Scout is reborn in the Time of the Gundams. He collects the Gundam pilots for a special mission, but they get sent back in time, where they meet the Scouts. Will sparks fly? AN: Stay tuned, maybe another chapter soon...
1. Revelation

ATTENTION ALL READERS: I have successfully attempted to revamp my fic 'Shadow Of A Scout' and this is the final product. I have taken the advice of all reviews and the advice of several renowned authors at FF.Net and especially those of the Gundam Wing/Sailor Moon realm. A special thanks to Sailorcelestial and Girl-Chama for all their support and advice. I thank the both of you for your time and patience. Anyway, on with the story, huh?   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, however I do own the idea of the Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns characters. I have a copyright on these characters, so don't use without my permission. I'm at fightinfalcon16@yahoo.com.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Revelation  
  
A party was being thrown in the Moon Palace during the eve of the Kingdom's collapse. Princess Serenity and the princesses of the Inner Court were all dancing the night away with princes, royal palace guards, and Prince Endymion himself. The Earth prince was currently talking to another young man whom was hidden in the shadows, one with shoulder-length dreadlocks and twin earrings in either earlobe, as the silhouette portrayed him. This young man was wearing a full suit of black armor. The suit came with a black cape, inside and out all black velvet. A rather long and menacing sword was strapped to the back of this shadowy figure.  
  
"Are you sure about this, Sailor Soldier of the Universe?" the prince asked the figure.  
"As sure as I am that this moon circles the Earth," the deep voice replied.  
"I will prepare at once!"  
  
As the prince left, the figure emerged from the shadow. His green eyes scanned the whole of the throng through his light brown dreads, spotting notable personnel: Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, the princesses of the Inner Court, Princess Venus, the Earth generals, Princess Venus, the dreaded grunt guards, and Princess Venus. He mentally slapped himself for not staying focused, for the lives of these people relied on him at this very moment.   
  
He saw the tallest of the grunts coming toward him. He was a tall and dark man, very serious and cold. His long hair pulled back into a long, black ponytail and a dark ring of facial hair surrounding his lips and chin. The young man followed the grunt, not saying a word as he passed Princess Venus. They locked eyes but for a moment and he moved on. He found himself facing Queen Serenity.  
  
"My Queen," the deep Scottish voice of the grunt said. "Prince Universe."  
"Thank you," Queen Serenity waved him away. "Prince Universe."  
"My Queen," Prince Universe bowed. "How may I serve you?"  
"I sense that your powers have increased beyond even mine, even surpassed that of the Silver Imperium Crystal," Queen Serenity said knowingly. "Although, you have shown immense loyalty to my kingdom and have never once refused a request."  
"Very true, your Majesty," Prince Universe replied. "What is it you'll have me do?"  
"I need you to go and fight off the Negaverse long enough to allow me to send off the spirits of yourself and the other Sailor Soldiers as we will all perish tonight."  
"You are very right my Queen," the prince said. "I will succeed."  
  
He bowed one last time and left to complete his mission. As he was to leave the palace, a hand grabbed his arm. It was a soft grip, not one of a man, at least. He wheeled around, forcing himself to look curious. He was then shocked to find it was Princess Venus that had him. She looked absolutely stunning in that orange gown, not to mention the sheer beauty of the natural sheen on her supple lips. Her blue eyes stared into his green, studying him as he stood there, seemingly off guard.   
  
He managed to smirk, "Well?"  
"Can a princess ask her prince for a dance?" she asked him coyly.  
"She can," he replied. "But may she is the real question?"  
"Or should the prince do the honors?" she chuckled.  
"My dearest princess," he exaggerated his bow. "I must leave you for I have important business that needs immediate attention."  
  
With that, he strode off into the night without so much as a goodbye kiss. She was left to hold the black talisman he had given her as a good luck charm.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Later on that evening-  
  
"My dear Venus," he croaked. "Oh God, what have I done to you?"   
  
Around him lay the bodies of the Royal Guard grunts, the Sailor Soldiers, Prince Endymion, and Queen Serenity herself. He fell to his knees in the moon's dusty battlefield, next to his beloved and betrothed Venus. He held her lifeless head in his hands, bent down to touch his cheek on hers, and wept. Suddenly, he threw his head back and let loose a scream of rage, anger, and grief. He laid Venus's head on the ground and took to flight.  
  
'Beryl, I'm going to kill you,' he thought. 'I'm going to tear your heart out through your throat and feed it to you.'  
  
"BEWARE BERYL!" he screamed. "SAILOR UNIVERSE IS GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU RUTHLESS WHORE!!"  
  
  
He raced toward the portal that would bring him to the Negaverse. He knew he wouldn't defeat Beryl while blinded by his rage. But that was if he could get past her wave of minions alive. He was enraged, hurt, scared, and shocked.  
  
'I've failed,' he thought. 'The Sailor Soldier of Shadow and Universal Knowledge has failed his duty to protect the other Sailor Soldiers, the Queen, and the peace of the kingdom. Venus, please forgive your fiancé.'  
  
"I'VE FAILED!!" Universe yelled at the outer realm of space.  
  
  
  
  
  
What's up, people? I hope that some out there will enjoy the fact that I have changed this story to fit some more believable material in. Is this an OK chapter, Sabbie-san? Lol, anyway, tell me what y'all think and if you guys give me 10 or more reviews, I'll post the next chapter. Hey, I have to have some inspiration and motivation, huh? So PLEASE help me out. 


	2. Showdown

Chapter 2 - Showdown  
  
He reached the portal and forged ahead into the catacombs of the castle. He landed, and drew his sword.  
  
This sword was longer than Universe was tall, seven feet. The hilt was a foot by itself, blacker than night. The cross guard opened at a large angle toward the hilt. The blade started out straight then curved slightly toward the inside, then out again and finally curving toward the tip, but no part of the sword was wider than the palm of his hand. The edges were of finely sharpened silver, which surrounded the black anointed blade with the silver Japanese characters emblazoned into it, which read "DragonBlade".  
  
Universe took in a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs, "BERYL!! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME YOU HEARTLESS WHORE OF SATAN!!"  
  
A wave of fresh rage washed over him and he ran up the stairs, sword in hand. As he reached a circular room, he stopped, honed in for psychic vibrations, and flew down one corridor into Beryl's throne room.  
  
There she sat with her minions surrounding her.  
  
"Welcome, Sailor Universe," Beryl said. "Come inside and make yourself comfortable."  
"Beryl, I've come to kill you," Universe said, calm but breathing heavily.  
"Oh, what a bold announcement! But, I won't be dying anytime soon, I'm afraid. The power of Queen Metallia protects me."  
"Prove it."  
  
With that, Beryl got up and held her fist in the air like she was clutching a sword. Then, calling out to Queen Metallia for help, purple energy formed into a sword that she was holding.  
  
"Let's get this over with," Beryl said, irritated.   
  
Neither moved nor said anything for several pregnant minutes fo silence. Suddenly, Universe disappeared. Beryl brought her sword behind her, quick as a flash, as Universe brought his blade down onto hers.  
  
"You're fast," Universe said darkly.  
"I know," Beryl said in a singsong voice.  
  
She twirled around swinging the sword at Universe's face, blocked by the DragonBlade. Then, Universe unleashed a blast of black energy at Beryl, clipping her shoulder. She screamed in agony, clutching her wounded arm as if it were going to fall off. Universe, blinded still by pure hatred, walked toward Beryl with a tear-streaked face and the menacing glare in his eyes. The DragonBlade was dragging along the floor, metal scratching at rock. Universe was standing eye-to-eye with Beryl so that she could see the pain in his eyes.   
  
"Now comes the part where I kill you," Universe said.  
  
He raised his sword above him, then drew and magicked his scythe to form its blade, and then he swung both weapons down hard. CLANG!!! CLANG!!! Both the beam scythe and the DragonBlade collided with Beryl's sword. Universe and Beryl leapt in opposite directions from each other, preparing to attack.   
  
"Universe Dark Shockwave!" Universe yelled, as he sliced the DragonBlade into the ground setting off an earthquake and black electric bolts hurtling toward Beryl.   
  
Unfortunately, all of Beryl's minions leapt in front of the attack, becoming nothing more than charred, shriveled heaps of leathery flesh. Universe had to think of something else quickly.  
  
"Universe Void Cable!"   
  
A black, glowing cable shot from Universe's hand and wrapped itself around Beryl, restraining her. She was unable to move her arms, as they were pinned to her sides. Universe yanked hard at the cable, bringing Beryl over to him and he then slammed her up against a nearby stone pillar, wrapping the cable around the pillar and her body. Universe punched her square in the jaw, then he flew his fist into her abdomen, and then he grabbed his sword to point it to the rear of him, turning around and stabbing the blade deep into her body. She let loose a scream of extreme pain and agony. She would have fallen if Sailor Universe hadn't wrapped her tight against the pillar. Universe wrenched the sword from her deep wound, which was bleeding profusely and beginning to form a crimson puddle on the floor.  
  
"Beryl," Universe said in a calm, monotone voice. "Why did you kill Venus?"   
  
Beryl looked at him in confusion, her face paling from blood loss.  
  
"Why ask a question you already know the answer to? That little princess deserved to die with the rest of her friends," Beryl sneered.  
"All of them had lives to carry on in the future," Universe said, still monotone.  
"Enough about their lives, what about me? What about my future with Prince Endymion?"  
"To Hell with you."  
"Then to Hell with Venus, the little whore!!!"  
  
With that, Universe swung the sword up lightly, letting it twirl, then catching the hilt with the blade pointing in front of him. Wrapping both hands around the hilt, he turned to Beryl. His eyes were tear-filled and his cheeks streaked with tear trails. He then said, "This is for my fiancée, the Royal Court, for the grunts, and for MY REVENGE!!" He then swung the sword at Beryl's neck. Before it made contact, Beryl leaned as far over as she could and kicked the blade...right into Universe's heart.   
  
His eyes bulged and his mouth opened in an expression of surprise and agony. His eyes then closed to slits and closed his jaws, every muscle in his face, neck, and chest tensed. Falling over, he exhaled the last time, closed his eyes, and died.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ho man! Sonuvabitch! Well, hey there! I ask you, no, I BEG you! Please review my, um, story? :) 


	3. The Rebirth

Hey there! If you've gotten this far, congratu-frickin-lations (j/k). Here's where we see what our friend grows up to be. BTW, please review.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, which belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. Sunrise TV, Sotsu, Inc. and Asahi TV own Gundam Wing, not me. However, Sailor Universe/Tre Young and Pyrone Reigns DO belong to me so don't use 'em.  
  
Chapter 3 - The Rebirth  
  
On January 1, A.C. 179, Tre Jason Young was born into a family of five older sisters and three older brothers: Nikki Elyse Young, 10; the triplets, Anthony Ryan Young, Jason Lucas Young, and Derrick Paul Young, all 7; the quadruplets, Ashley Mary Young, Julia Tania Young, Mika Daria Young, and Crystal Adrienne Young, all 3. All the girls looked like their mother, Jade Young, with beautiful, long, brown hair and Cobalt blue eyes (imagine Belle of 'Beauty and the Beast' in anime). The boys had sandy blonde hair in short, tiny dreads and deep blue eyes. Their father had light brown hair done in a business fashion, Prussian blue eyes, and a short goatee.   
  
  
  
Matthew and Jade Young were the proud parents of another baby boy and were once again adding more rooms to their already remodeled house. The Young family was well to do, in the upper middle class bracket, but they still struggled with raising a large family. They hated the fact that little Tre was accident, a baby conceived out of no planning for his being at all. They had often thought about ditching the poor child during Jade's pregnancy with him, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it when they saw him for the first time. So they brought him home, hoping for the best.  
  
About the time Tre was almost six months old, a Scottish scientist who had been dodging the British bounty hunters and intercepting plans for an indestructible mecha called Gundam Deathscythe, came to L2 colony X-66618, where Tre lived. The scientist, named Doctor X by his own invention, had been spying on this child for some time now, studying his every move. He noticed that this child had extraordinary talents within him, many that were yet untapped. He watched from the shadows of the alleys and from distances safe enough to not be noticed by the parents. Doctor X decided to one day make this child a Gundam pilot for the Gundam he was constructing: DreadScythe.   
  
Borrowing off the name of Deathscythe, this Gundam would be more powerful, worlds stealthier, and more menacing than Deathscythe would ever dream of becoming. He would need to approach this child in his early childhood, but not as an infant. He'd wait until the child was about five, then he could start to make this boy a soldier, a hacker, and quite possibly a very wealthy person in the future. Bounties would be easy tracking for a Gundam pilot, and easy money. But Doctor X would show his face to the family whose son they would almost never know for a good ten years.  
  
Tre was almost a year old now, and had been talking since he was seven months old, and he just started walking at ten months. He would be all over the place, walking and talking up a storm. Jade spent her time at home, looking after him and his siblings during the summer months when school was out. Matt had gone to work like always, bringing home the money after working almost twelve hours a day. It was one such day that Doctor X decided to coming knocking on the Young's door. Jade had asked someone to handle Tre for moment. She answered the door, Tre hugging her leg.  
  
"May I help you?" Jade asked politely.  
  
"Aye, lass," the doctor said. "I was wondering what a mother such as yourself would say if someone told her that her child might become a Gundam pilot to save the colonies."  
  
"Well, I can't say I'd be happy about it, mister-"  
  
"Doctor X, lass. You would be heart-broken, aye?"  
  
"Umm, not heart-broken, just very worried most of the time, I guess."  
  
"What if I told you that I have Gundam being built in this very colony?"  
  
"I'd say you're a crackpot," Jade chuckled. "Every inch of this colony has been put to use; there couldn't possibly be enough space to build a mecha of any kind!"  
  
"Aye, but thar is, lass!" Doctor X said excitedly.  
  
"What kind of stunt are you pulling, sir?" Jade said worriedly. "I'll call the police if you don't leave now."  
  
"Lass, I just wanted to tell you that your son will become very famous one day for what he does as a Gundam pilot!"  
  
"Which one?" Jade asked suspiciously. "Which one!?"  
  
"I bid you farewell, lassie," Doctor X bowed. "Good day to you, and to little Tre thar."  
  
As he sauntered off, Jade had a sudden sense of foreboding. She scooped Tre up immediately and closed her door, locking it promptly. She then ran to the phone, dialing the police and providing a description of the man that just came to her front door. That event was unknown to little Tre, for he could barely reason well enough to live on what he had.  
  
A few weeks after the incident, Tre was going to start daycare while his mom went to work for a large law firm. The toddler wasn't scared in the least; in fact, he was so absorbed in his own world that he didn't know what was going to happen. His mother dropped him off, kissed him goodbye and left. Tre was left to make friends with the other kids. The morning would serve a different purpose for Tre and would shape him for the rest of his life.  
  
It was during the eleven o' clock hour that a mysterious figure with long brown hair, bedecked in short black clothing, tall black boots, and a long black coat watched the children playing out in the yard of the daycare center, Tre especially. This figure was on a mission: locate and capture Tre Jason Young. The figure waited until all the children left the yard before it started to move. Tre was still in the toddler's swing, the bucket-like contraption leaving him by himself as the young assistant ushered the other youngsters inside. The figure stealthily walked by the small child and scooped him up, leaving an empty swing. The figure ran off, the toddler pressed against her chest firmly. By the time the young assistant turned around and screamed the figure had disappeared.  
  
Almost immediately, the cops swarmed the quaint daycare, searching for any clues as to whom or what snatched this poor child away from such negligent eyes. Parents whose children were being put under this daycare's supervision immediately left their respective offices and jobs to go pick up their children. The Young family was in a flying rage, but Mrs. Young was in too much of a panic to be angry; her little baby was in the clutches of some weirdo for all she knew.   
  
But meanwhile, some distance away from the cameras and crowds, the dark figure was silently riding to her home, to her job, with the small toddler safely strapped to her blossoming, nearly exposed chest. The whir of the turbines underneath the motorcycle-like frame was soft and whispering while the jetbike hovered a mere nine inches above the ground. The small toddler slept peacefully, not realizing that he'd never see his family again until he was a grown boy.  
  
The vehicle started to slow in front of a run down house, entering a rather large and jagged hole in the side of the same. The sounds of the vehicle died away as the engine was choked and a rather large platform started to descend with the two human occupants and their vehicle. Two large doors slid over them as the platform continued to lower. At this point, the toddler was awakened by the pangs of hunger that bit at his stomach. He stirred, these actions noticed by the rider, whom looked down at her passenger and smiled as she shook out her hair.  
  
"Are you hungry?" she asked, blue eyes kind and soft.  
  
"Yee-ah," the child whimpered.  
  
"Here, this will hold you until Doctor X makes us some lunch," the rider said.  
  
"What is it?" the child asked.  
  
"Chocolate," the rider said. "You like chocolate?"  
  
"Uh huh," the child said, stuffing his mouth with the candy.  
  
The platform finally stopped, and the rider arose from the jetbike, walking smoothly to her chief, Doctor X. The latter was currently employed in his work, muttering things into a small tape recorder that he held near his mouth as he scanned the specimen that lay across the large operating table in the center of his cluttered lab. He didn't notice the two newcomers to his laboratory. He was so absorbed in his work; the dark rider came up silently, sneaking up on the unsuspecting doctor. Little Tre dropped the tin foil, in which the chocolate was wrapped in and said,  
  
"Oopsy!"  
  
This startled both man and girl, the doctor turning around so fast that the tool he held ripped through whatever it was he was working on, yelling out, "Great Scots!" The three shared a pregnant pause, until Tre said,  
  
"Are you Doc-tor X?"  
  
"Aye, laddy," the doctor answered, heart pounding. "And you are Tre Young."  
  
"Uh huh," Tre said, playing with his fingers.  
  
"Do you know why we took you from your daycare?" Doctor X asked.  
  
"No," Tre answered sheepishly.  
  
"Because you're going to be a Gundam pilot, young man!"  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"It's a special person that gets to do a lot of fun things," Doctor X said. "You like fun things, aye?"  
  
"Yeah," the boy said. "But, are you going to make lunch?"  
  
"Aye, I am," the man laughed.  
  
With that, Doctor X walked off to a kitchen very near his cluttered laboratory. The black-clothed rider set the boy down on the operating table, next to the torn up robot and walked off toward the kitchen to help the doctor. The boy stole a glance at the robot, which was in the shape of a female, the chest cavity open. Tre pushed himself up and carefully walked to the head of this robot, trying to see what it looked like. Small metal conductors criss-crossed her flesh tone face, blue eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, and red lips pursed in a rested position. He scanned over the open chest, spying two mounds of flesh on either side of the body, dislodged from their apparent positions. He heard a voice tutting just then, and he felt himself being lifted up and then down onto the floor.  
  
"Little Tre, ye shouldn't beh messin' in me work!" Doctor X said gently.  
  
"Is that doll still malfunctioning?" the girl asked from the doorway.  
  
"Aye, and it's supposed to act as a decoy fer yeh," the doctor said.  
  
"That makes me feel a lot safer," she mused sarcastically. "But, you still try for me, and that makes me feel safe, grandpa."  
  
Tre began training the next day, receiving the most grueling and rigorous physical activities a child was ever subject to. His body began to grow stronger, faster, and quicker with each passing day. His physique started to display that of a mini bodybuilder. The toddler was really starting his life as a Gundam pilot. All the while, the aforementioned mecha was being constructed with great attention to detail in the work, for Doctor X wanted this young boy to one day pilot the strongest, fastest, and most invincible Gundam in the colonies. Birthdays came and went for the boy, and he was about seven years old when he started a new set of training.  
  
"Etiquette?" Tre asked one day.  
  
"Aye, etiquette," Doctor X answered. "You've got be able to blend with the crowds in order to escape at some points, so you'll appear more refined if you are trained in etiquette."  
  
"So now I have to learn what fork to use and all that?"  
  
"Aye, lad."  
  
"Dammit," Tre sighed.  
  
"Watch your mouth, lad," Doctor X warned. "That could get you caught!"  
  
"But I don't want to do this!" Tre complained. "You gotta give me something to work with here!"  
  
"I'll make you a deal," the doctor said. "I'll let you learn guitar if you do this, AND I'll get you whatever guitar you want with whatever amp and effects you can dream of!"  
  
"Are you for real?" Tre's eyes lit up. "Well, in that case, my dear doctor, I do believe we have to discuss our eminent course in the fine arts of manners and etiquette."  
  
"Now you're talking, lad!" the doctor said excitedly.  
  
-Two years later-  
  
The open market was busy and crowded, and Tre, Layla, and Doctor X had gone shopping for food. While there, young Tre was bored, so he looked around for something else to look at. Soon, his eyes fell on a kitten with a crescent moon on its forehead. Tre rubbed his eyes and did a double take, just to make sure. Yep, sure enough, it was a golden crescent moon symbol right on the kitten's forehead. The kitten ran off and Tre after it. Layla turned to ask Tre something, when she panicked at the absence of his presence.  
  
"Tre!" Layla called, along with Doctor X.  
  
"Layla, me granddaughter," Doctor X sighed, "I trust you to look after that boy and yeh loose 'im."  
  
"Grandpa!" Layla whined.   
  
Meanwhile, Tre had wandered only ten feet off, into a nearby alley. The kitten turned to face him...and spoke.   
  
"I've been waiting for you, Tre!" the cat said.  
  
"Who the fuck is you?" Tre squeaked.   
  
"My name is Coal," the cat said. "I was your guardian when you used to be Sailor Universe."  
  
"Huh?" Tre said, bewildered.  
  
"Many millennia ago, you were the strongest Sailor Soldier in the universe," Coal began. "You were awesome too! You had to be, because, you were appointed protector of the Sailor Soldiers, the Moon Court, the entire solar system we exist in now, and the entire Universe!"   
  
"OK," Tre said slowly. "So what are you telling me now?"  
  
"You've been reborn, so now you can be Sailor Universe again!" Coal said excitedly.  
  
In front of the both of them, a shimmer appeared on the ground in front of them. It became brilliant, shining like a star, then it disappeared and a black handled knife with a funny symbol on it took its place. Tre picked it up. It was about ten inches in length overall, a black annotated blade with sharp, silvered edges took about five of those inches up. Emblazoned on the blade was a message in silver Japanese characters that read: "Peace is war." The handle was comfortable to hold, and it too had a silver symbol that looked like a U surrounded by a broad, slanted ring; this was the symbol of Sailor Universe.  
  
Tre gazed at the knife with supreme interest, turning it over and over in his hands until he heard something in his mind order him to utter: "Universe Celestial Power."  
  
Immediately he was surrounded by round, shimmering black energy bolts. Tre began screaming as he was engulfed by the energy. He emerged bedecked in a myriad of black clothes: black fatigues pants going into a pair of heavy, steel-toed combat boots, black long sleeve shirt with his insignia on it, all topped by a long, sleeveless trench. His weapons were a mixture of magic and modern. He had a very large sword that was about seven-foot-three in length, the very sword that killed him whence he battled Queen Beryl. In addition, he also had that staff which would turn into a horrible beam scythe. Finally he had a sleek version of an M16A2 - "a new addition," Coal said - which was tightly strapped to the right side of his back with the muzzle pointing toward the sky. Of course, his transform tool doubled as a close attack weapon.  
  
Tre touched all the new things that he had on his person, even ventured to take a gander at his new gun. Tre noticed something about his gun that Coal had to explain.  
  
"Your M16 looks as though it has a grenade launcher attachment?" Coal said.  
  
"An M203, yeah," Tre confirmed.  
  
"You'll learn an attack later that will allow you to make an energy bomb that you can launch out of there. If you were to do it with your bare hands, it could kill all the people around you. That's how you took out an entire planet once."  
  
"So by putting it in a gun, it suppresses the energy enough to only kill what I target."  
  
"Yesh."  
  
"Yesh?"  
  
"Yesh!"  
  
"You say yes funny," Tre pointed out.  
  
"Don't make fun of me!" Coal insisted. "Just deactivate your transformation and go home, Sailor Universe."  
  
Tre thought about it, and it happened. His mental powers were awakened now. HE turned to hear the doctor and Layla calling for him, then turned back top say goodbye to Coal, but the kitten was gone.   
  
'Weird,' Tre thought.  
  
-Six years later-  
  
Tre awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright and cold sweat enveloping his body. His neck length dreadlocks stuck to his face, his rapid respirations noisy in the still silence. He kicked off the covers and walked out of his room, toward the lab. He saw a lone light on, Layla sitting underneath the soft glow. She had fallen asleep on a book she was reading, drool seeping onto the already wet page and her noisy snores filling the room.  
  
"Layla," Tre said, shaking her.  
  
She immediately snapped awake and put a knife to Tre's throat, fully alert. She saw who it was and put the weapon away. Tre looked at her in an annoyed expression, as though he had gone through this before way too many times. She yawned, and asked,  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"It's about two in the morning," Tre said. "I couldn't sleep."  
  
"You're getting to be used to that lifestyle," Layla said dreamily.  
  
"Why are you like that to me?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"As though you're in love with me? Why do you get that look in your eyes every time you talk to me?"  
  
"If only you knew what a gentleman you've been despite all you're training," Layla sighed. "My grandpa taught you well with that etiquette."  
  
"He did, didn't he?" Tre chortled. "I never thought in a million years that I could snag you! You're like, what, in your early thirties now?"  
  
"God, that sounds so old!" Layla complained. "At least my grandpa is WAY older."  
  
"Doctor X is old, ain't he?" Tre laughed. "Hey, I'm a go look at my Gundam some, wanna come?"  
  
"Nah, I'm cool," Layla replied. "Night."  
  
"Peace."  
  
So, all alone, Tre went to the hangar of his completed Gundam. He swept his neck length dreads behind his ears, revealing the twin rings on each lobe, the one near the top of his left (making 3 on the left), and the two on his left eyebrow. 13 years in the making, this Gundam stood 128' 4" tall and had the look of its pilot. The Gundam DreadScythe had black, metal dreads hanging from its head, the mean look of its green eyes and red goatee. It appeared to have two rings where a left eyebrow would be on its gray faceplate. The torso had black metal armor of Neo-Gundanium in a muscular look, the rectangular pecs and abs all touched, showing nothing but black. The forearms were equipped with rectangular pacs that slanted upwards toward powder blue hemispheres resting on top of the pacs. These hemispheres illuminate the darkness around them. These pacs extended a black energy blade 30' long when ignited. The legs had the look of baggy, black pants stopped at about the mid-shin by black boots, instead of the odd look of the other Gundams legs.   
  
  
  
Weapons came to the 150' version of Sailor Universe's sword and the 160' beam scythe staff, which wielded a black blade of energy. Plus, a long beam cannon with a barrel shaped like a square with slightly truncated corners, as seen from the opening of the muzzle. All along the gun were vent lines and during sustained charging, the gun would extend in two places revealing a wheel with slanted lines on it; the spiral vent. When the trigger was squeezed fast it would be a machine gun. That was Gundam 06, DreadScythe.  
  
  
  
Tre took the cable ride up and sat in the cockpit. Tre put his arms out in front of him, palms facing down and slowly lowered his hands to the controls, wrapping them around the horizontal stick. The Gundam's control boards lit up and hummed. The view screens glowed to life, showing Tre the surroundings on the monitors.   
  
'I can't wait to use this thing!' Tre thought to himself.   
  
He then shut everything down and lowered himself down to the ground.   
  
  
  
As he walked out of the hangar, he switched off the huge lights and threw the cavernous building into darkness. Tre then went up to his second floor room.   
  
  
  
Tre's room was about 20' x 20' with a walk-in closet, a dresser topped with models of fighter jets, a huge office desk, a bed nestled into one corner, and a stereo system with monstrous speakers occupying an entire wall. In front of the speakers, all in stands stood a pair of 7-string Ibanez K-7 Head and Munky Anniversary Edition Signature Series guitars in A.D. 2001 vintage design, one black, one gray, both hooked up to its own Tone-Lok pedal arrangement. Next to the guitars, stood a 2003 Ibanez K5 Soundgear 5-string bass. All the instruments were connected to the monstrosity of amplifiers behind them.   
  
  
  
Tre picked up the black K-7, slung the strap onto his back, and turned the amps up. He tuned the guitar to the perfect distortion, then let loose. He played riffs from artists who died MANY years ago, but he liked it better than today's music. (AN: I apologize if you don't like these bands, but hey, I respect your opinions.) He played the hard, heavy bridge of "Freak On a Leash" by KoRN, the slow melodic strumming of "Spiral" from Godsmack, plus the fast chorus and bridge of Static X's "This Is Not". Finally, the disturbingly eerie tunes of Disturbed's "Remember".   
  
  
  
-One hour later-  
  
  
  
Tre had put the bass down in its stand and moved to his bed. Before he could start, someone knocked at his door. He mentally opened it, and Doctor X stepped in. His gray eyes were rimmed with red, his face set in a tired expression of anger. Tre smiled sheepishly, turning off the amps with his mind and crawling his skinny ass into bed. Doctor X shut his door and left for his own bedroom.  
  
Tre read his mind and found that he would be returning to his original family soon. Leaving? He didn't want to leave! He liked living here. He guessed there was a reason; what scientist, mad or otherwise, wanted to take care of a teenage boy with dreads who woke your old ass up at two in the morning?  
  
A week later, the Youngs got a knock on their door. Jade got up from taking care of the family's lunch preparation to answer the door. She swung the door open to see a six-foot-two fifteen-year-old with dreadlocks. She seemed confused at first, so she asked the youth,  
  
"May I help you?"  
  
"Are you Jade Young?"   
  
"I am."  
  
The boy smiled at her, "Hi, mom."  
  
Jade suddenly realized it was her youngest child Tre, and she fainted right in the foyer. The rest of the family came to the door to see what happened, and it was Matt Young that recognized his son without needing to ask. The older Young embraced Tre into a tight bear hug and brought him in. From a distance, Layla and Doctor X watched the boy return to his family. Layla shed a silent tear as the only man she loved walked out of her life, and Doctor X began to drive off. 


	4. The Tragedy

Hey there, peeps! Here it is, Chapter 4. I know it's long, but it is a great read. Oh, by the way, please read and review.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, which is Naoko Takeuchi's property. Also, Gundam Wing is not mine, which belongs to Sunrise TV/Sotsu Agency, Inc. Tre Young/Sailor Universe is mine and so is Pyrone Reigns. So there you have it.  
  
Chapter 4 - The Tragedy  
  
Tre's arrival to his home was a whirlwind of questions and getting to know his siblings that he never knew, or rather, wasn't consciously aware enough to remember them. He met his brothers, which were all goofs with short, sandy blonde dreads and were all into hard rock alternative acts of contemporary and "classical" eras. He was introduced to his sisters, the eldest of which he would immediately form an indestructible bond with over the next few months. The rest of his sisters were glad to see him again were all very taken with how mature he was, but yet how standoffish he was at their antics. His parents were relieved to finally have their youngest son back, and Tre immediately went to his mom, rested her into a hug, and cried with her over his return. He missed his mother for those fourteen long years.  
  
For the next six months, Tre grew accustomed to the odd rules of his new household. He wasn't allowed to play his guitars as much as he liked, and he often butted heads with his mother about his longer dreads. He held her at scissor-point a couple of times; his training had definitely made him quicker than a flash to turn a weapon on its holder. His sisters (the quadruplets) always wanted to know things about the last fourteen years but Nikki just left well enough alone until Tre opened up to her over a car he was working on one day, she helping.  
  
"I wasn't molested or anything, yo," Tre said, fixing the fuel injector heads on the last cylinder.  
  
"I didn't think you were," Nikki confirmed. "I knew from the way you held those scissors to Mom's neck that you were trained in some kind of combat."  
  
"Not just that, Nikki," Tre said. "I am a Gundam pilot now, sworn enemy to all those who oppose freedom of the colonies."  
  
Nikki dropped her tool, looked at Tre in horrified way, and uttered, "Oh, my God; it's true then."  
  
"What?" Tre wondered.   
  
"It was you who destroyed that British mobile suit over our colony?" she gasped.  
  
"No!" Tre said immediately. "I haven't even flown it, yet."  
  
"Oh, thank God!" Nikki breathed. "I almost thought my little brother was a cold-blooded murderer."  
  
He looked at her with a look of sarcasm, and said: "Please."  
  
She laughed, pleased that her acting fooled him, "I know that you are a murdering fuck, being a Gundam pilot and all, so don't worry."  
  
"Cool," Tre said. "Hey, you connected that direct port nitrous injector hose to that cylinder yet?"  
  
"Yeah, I got it," she said. "Why are you putting NOS on a sixteen-cylinder engine?"  
  
"Why not leave a little room for an extra boost?" Tre wondered. "I'm a blow the competition away regardless, but why not rub it in their faces?"  
  
She pondered that for a moment before saying, "Good point."  
  
He wiped some smudges off the shiny chrome engine, stepped back to admire the work, and closed the hood. He climbed in, depressed the clutch and started the engine. It turned a couple of times then it revved to life. He raced the engine some, the deep purr of idle turned into a low, loud roar. He and Nikki both cheered.   
  
Tre started school about three months after he returned home and was enjoying his time there, somewhat. He was always getting into fights with kids who thought they could beat him up, so he had to put them in their place. Of course, they would end up looking like bloody Hell and he wouldn't have a scratch. However, he got most of his subjects pretty easily and was in the top ranks of his class. Not only that, but word had gotten out that Tre was the kidnapped kid of After Colony 180. He got celebrity status overnight, it seemed, and he got himself a girlfriend out of the deal.  
  
Soon, the quadruplets turned eighteen and wanted to go clubbing for their birthday, since they were newly legal. Tre was left alone for a while when he received a call from someone.  
  
"Hello?" he answered.  
  
"I'm looking for a teenage fag boy with brown shitlocks," a deep, Scottish voice said. "Is he there?"  
  
"I don't know," Tre laughed. "If he's being harassed by his adult, black-braided lover, then yeah."  
  
The voice chortled, "Hi, Tre. What's new man?"  
  
"Nothin' Pyrone," Tre yawned. "Just settin' heeah wartchin' a flick."  
  
"Well, I got it on good authority that something big is going to happen to the both of us," Pyrone said. "Like we're going to be famous one day."  
  
Tre tsked, "Not that 'At Home Psychic' shit again, dawg!"  
  
"You and me are Gundam pilots, brah," Pyrone said. "Am I right?"  
  
"Suppose you aren't?" Tre ventured.   
  
"Then I'd be half-right!" Pyrone said confidently.  
  
"OK, Space Dork," Tre said in a mocking voice.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Pyrone said sarcastically. "I just might come and blow up your house."  
  
"Pyrone, if someone had tapped my line, do you know that YOUR secret could be blown wide open?" Tre theorized.  
  
"So?"   
  
"Well, Gundam pilots should be discreet, yet subtle. Don't let on that you are without dropping subliminal hints!"  
  
"AHA!" Pyrone said loudly. "You are too!"  
  
"FUCKHEAD!!" Tre screamed. "I didn't want you to blow me out, too!"  
  
"Don't worry, I ran an encryption code on the line so no one could hear us anyway," Pyrone laughed. "Besides, you and I could take 'em."  
  
"Yeah, but our families couldn't," Tre reminded. "How's your dad, by the way?"  
  
"He's about to name his new VP sometime today," Pyrone said. "And, he's got your dad's business coming up in the ranks soon. Maybe one day, they'll be sitting side by side on a merger company and doing business with one another in an interlocking directorate."  
  
"So it's true that my dad DID invent a new space fighter," Tre said. "Cool. I just might be a rich brat after all."  
  
"Don't get cocky, dick munch," Pyrone said. "There's only one way to go when you get to the top."  
  
"Yeah," Tre agreed. "But I'm a make sure my daddy stays 'King of the Hill.'"  
  
"Hey, I gotta go," Pyrone said. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."  
  
"I thought you graduated already," Tre said.  
  
"I'll be there to say hi, dumbass," Pyrone scoffed. "Peace."  
  
"And practice, Fieldy," Tre said. "Don't want Munky spanks, do ya?"  
  
He laughed, "All right. Lata."  
  
"Bye," Tre said, hanging up.  
  
Just as he did that, the front door burst open and two teenage girls flopped lethargically onto the foyer carpet. The rest of the four sisters laughed like uncontrollable hyenas. Tre sighed amusedly, knowing that they got way too drunk on their first night as legal drinkers. Hey, you don't eighteen but once in your life, right? (AN: I figured that future would be a little more lax with the drinking law; at eighteen, you can die for your country, go to clubs and titty bars, vote on the country's leader, but you can't have a drop of alcohol? I figure, once you're named a legal adult, you should be adult enough to have a farking drink!)  
  
Tre said to Julia and Mika, "Man, you guys are trashed!"  
  
"No we aren't!" Julia laughed. "Mom and Dad are! You're just a dirty rat bastard!"  
  
"Tre," Mika crooned. "Why don't you hang in our room tonight?"  
  
"No way in Hell!" Tre said. "You ain't puking on me!"  
  
"Tre, indulge your sisters," Jade said. "It's their birthday."  
  
"Ma, they're gonna keep my ass up all night," Tre complained. "I got school!"  
  
"Please?" the four girls said in unison.  
  
Much to Tre's chagrin, his quadruplet sisters stayed up most the night talking about the night they had, all in a drunken stupor. Tre's ears were about to blow wide open with all the laughing and high-pitched squeals. HE finally had enough and yelled for peace and quiet. They immediately quieted and fell asleep.  
  
  
  
Tre was very tired the next morning and almost fell asleep in his pancakes. All 11 members of the Young family sat at the large wooden table in the dining room every morning and evening for breakfast and dinner, respectively. That day would hold two surprises for Tre: one good, one bad. Nikki stood up after downing 10 pancakes (3 times her usual) and announced to everyone very unexpectedly,  
  
"I'm pregnant."   
  
"What!?" Tre's dad sounded aghast.   
  
Everyone looked at her in shock, while she smiled like a five-year-old who gets a double scoop of ice cream.   
  
"What did you just say?" Anthony asked very slowly.  
  
"I said I'm pregnant," Nikki said back, equally as slow.  
  
"Oh-my-God," Julia said.  
  
"What the fu-" Tre's mom started, before being cut off.  
  
"Young lady," Tre's dad yelled. "Get into the study, NOW!"  
  
As he shouted that last part, everyone jumped. Now Nikki was the one who looked aghast. She followed her father into the study and the doors were slammed shut behind Nikki. Then the yelling started. Matt Young's yelling was so intense, his blasting shook the house worse than a drill sergeant whose company wouldn't carry out his orders. His voice carried into the dining room, so everyone heard every word being shouted at their sister.   
  
Once he was done, the doors burst open and Nikki streaked up the stairs, tears falling down her face. Matt's face was set into a very stern scowl when he appeared from the study. He walked around the foyer for a minute, then straightened his business suit and retied his tie. Jade Young walked over to him, high heels clicking on the marble floor tile. She removed her black jacket, revealing a long sleeve white blouse and black knee length skirt. She and her husband had a quiet chat, while the kids had a quiet conversation of their own.  
  
"I bet it's that Darren dude," Jason whispered.  
  
"Oh please, it has to be Congressman Williams' son, Jack," Mika said.  
  
"Reverend Sands' kid, Randy," Derrick offered.  
  
"I heard it might be that dumbass jock from her high school days," Crystal said.  
  
"You're all wrong," Tre spoke up.   
  
All stopped to look at him. 'What could he possibly know', they thought. Tre heard their thoughts, some more displeasing than others, and some that weren't so bad. He told himself to just be a little hard to open up. All the while, his siblings asked him who it was and not getting a word from him. Finally, he told them.  
  
"It's a mobile suit pilot from the Brits."  
  
"Naaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh," Anthony said, shocked.  
  
"No way," Ashley said.  
  
"It can't be," Derrick said.  
  
"Really?" Julia asked.  
  
"You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me," Jason said.  
  
"What's his name?" Mika wondered.  
  
"Is he cute?" Crystal offered.  
  
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, no, I don't know, and no," Tre stated.  
  
"Huh?" all said.  
  
"Never mind," Tre laughed.  
  
All of Tre's sisters and brothers, plus mom and dad left earlier than he to get to where they were going. Tre saw this as the perfect opportunity. He grabbed his book bag and ran to the garage to his car. From there, he screamed down the roads to the place where the Gundam was stored, threw on the lights, and ran to the cable hanging from more than 60 feet up. He shrugged on his book bag, then put his foot into the stir-up, and then held onto the handhold. He was immediately hauled up to the cockpit door. He sat down in the chair then closed the door and strapped himself in. The view screens glowed to life, showing him the hangar from the Gundam's point of view.   
  
He made the tall machine walk to the elevator, which raised him up into the colony. He then activated the Hyper Stealth feature, making the Gundam invisible to radar and the naked eye. Tre fired up the Gundam's rockets and flew to the abandoned office building, which was completely hollowed out and a perfect hiding spot for a Gundam. Tre slowed the machine down, adjusting the controls here and there for a nice, soft landing.   
  
One side of the building was a makeshift doorway that opened and closed like a real door. Tre reached the Gundam's hand out and pulled at a spot where a few windows were broken out near the corner of the building. The Gundam pulled the side of the building open and stepped inside, turned around, and pulled the "door" back into place. Tre shut the systems down and opened the door for the cable ride down.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Tre Jason Young," a female voice said across the park.  
  
"Yes, Lory Marie Walker," Tre said back, amused.   
  
He looked at a park bench where a beautiful brunette was standing. Standing at 5' 10", she almost reaches Tre's nose. She had long, waist length brown hair set into many cornrows. The long brown braids hung all the way to the small of her back, ending in silky tassels. Her hazel eyes sparkled with the very life of this girl.   
  
She wore a white baby doll shirt with a silver crescent surrounded by a gold ring. Her impressive bustline held the shirt well above her navel, showing her soft, fleshy belly. Just below her navel was a black mini-skirt, which hugged her hips tightly due to her still present baby fat. And finally, she had on a pair of girls black Sketchers platform boots, reaching just below her knees.  
  
"Well," Tre said. "Aren't WE dressed well for their last day of virginity?"  
  
"Can't say much about your outfit," Lory cooed.  
  
She had a point. Tre was only decked in a baggy white T-shirt, baggy black shorts reaching below his knees, and white ankle socks topped by black skateboard shoes. So much for dressing out, huh?  
  
"Umm...well you see," Tre began, blushing.  
  
He was silenced by the finger on his lips. Silver nail polish decorated the perfect nails of his girlfriend.   
  
"You look sexy to me," she whispered in his ear. Her hazel eyes met his Prussian blue eyes. Then, they locked into a deep, passionate kiss. It didn't last very long because Ronald McMann, the class clown, came up to them both and yelled,  
  
"Heeeeeeeeyyyyy, LOVERS! I have a room for rent. It's soundproof and it costs twenty dollars a night."   
  
Tre and Lory had to laugh in spite of themselves. However, Tre still gave Ron a swift kick in the ass. The three walked to school talking about the next Thrash concert they all would attend and when they would meet up at the mall on Thursday next week. They had just reached their first period class when the bell rang.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lunch couldn't come any earlier. History was their second period and Tre, Lory, and Ron couldn't wait to get out. The bell rung just as Mr. Echelon was about to tell the class about the Clinton scandal.   
  
Tre ordered the usual: Dragon sashimi, California rolls, with volcano rolls on the side and lots of wasabi with a large soda.  
  
He sat next to Lory and across from Ron. Ron spied his tray, his nose wrinkled in disgust.  
  
"How can you eat that stuff?" Ron asked.  
  
"It's healthy for you," Tre retorted. "Plus, it tastes good."  
  
"Oh yeah, chopped up squid, octopi, and spicy Japanese horseshit-"  
  
"Horseradish," Lory replied calmly.  
  
"Whatever," Ron finished. "The point is this: how can you eat raw fish?"  
  
"Simple," Tre said. "With chopsticks."  
  
With that, he picked a volcano roll (I forget what's in it), rubbed it in wasabi, and stuffed it in his mouth. He chewed for a little while, then his eyes started to well up with tears, and he swallowed. He coughed and gulped some soda. He panted for a second, then calmed down.  
  
"WHOA!" Tre exclaimed. "That'll clear out your sinuses."  
  
Everyone at the table grinned. ory began to munch quietly on her Caesar salad, while Ron quickly went through his BLT on a wheat roll. Tre popped the last California roll in his mouth, chugged the rest of his soda, then belched loudly.   
  
"Six-point-six on the Richter scale for California roll number eighteen," Ron said.  
  
"Gross," Lory said in her best California blonde accent.  
  
"Lovely," said a familiar voice behind Tre.  
  
"Pyrone!" Tre shouted. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Came to check on you," Pyrone said. "Besides, the old man was drivin' me nuts!"  
  
"Hah! So, how's the monkey suit fit?" Tre asked sarcastically.   
  
Pyrone had a gray jacket and matching pants, with a white silk business shirt and shiny black shoes. His twists matched the hairstyle of the long dead guitarist from KoRN known as Brian "Head" Welch. And he had a rough goatee from the middle of his lower lip to well past his chin. Every other part of his face was cleanly shaven.  
  
"It's like being confined in a straightjacket," Pyrone said, pulling on his collar.  
  
"Lucky me, huh?" Tre shot back.  
  
"Yeah, I'll give you lucky you," Pyrone replied.   
  
He pulled out a water pistol and squirted Tre in the face. Then he squirted Lory and Ron next. Tre wrestled the gun out of Pyrone's hand, turned the nozzle on him, and let him have it. Pyrone's white shirt now clung to his hairy chest, exposing his dark hairs. Pyrone gave Tre a glare from his dark brown eyes. Tre returned the look with his own Prussian glare. Pyrone then broke into a lop-sided smirk and asked for his water pistol back. Tre handed it to him, and then Pyrone left.   
  
'To think that we're going to be Gundam pilots,' Tre thought. 'We aren't even serious about fighting, much less anything else.'  
  
Tre was snapped out of his reverie by Lory who tugged lightly on his dreads. He slowly turned, still looking at Pyrone walking down the halls. Finally, Pyrone was out of sight. Tre shook his head as he repeated his thought. e was amazed that the two of them would save the colonies from militaristic rule.   
  
"Baby, what's wrong?" Lory asked.   
  
"I don't know," Tre replied.  
  
"That Pyrone is the problem," Ron said. Then, switching to a nagging, female voice, he said, "That Pyrone Reigns is a bad influence to your young and squishy mind."  
  
Tre, Lory, and Ron all chuckled at this and all their troubles were forgotten.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
School finally let out for the day and the halls were flooded with students opening their lockers and gathering their books for tonight's homework assignments. Some were making out against the lockers, others being slammed into lockers. Tre, Lory, and Ron managed to navigate the sea of humans to exit the building.  
  
"So you guys wanna hang at the base and check the stunts they're practicing?" Tre asked.  
  
"I can't," Ron said dejectedly. "Mom said I have to clean the house today."  
  
"That sucks," Tre and Lory said in unison.  
  
"Yeah, well, see ya guys next Monday," Ron said. He waved and went on his way home.   
  
Tre and Lory interlocked fingers and walked toward the Air Force base. It was a good mile and a half from their school, but they walked slowly and talked about what the universe really was, which came first (the chicken or the egg), and other deep topics of life. They finally came to the fence on the outer perimeter. They heard the roar of a fighter pulling full afterburner, but they couldn't see it. Tre spotted it first. Halfway to the other side of the colony, coming around the huge axle, was an FX-1682 (a variant on the present day F-16 with hover capability, Mach 20, and 50 G max, plus turn/climb/dive on a dime agility). The black painted bird was pulling a 90-degree dive, full afterburner towards the runway.   
  
"Tre," Lory asked nervously. "Is he going to crash?"  
  
"Just watch," Tre said, amazed.  
  
Just before the jet could collide with the runway, it did a sharp pull up, streaking across the tarmac only inches above the surface. Tre and Lory couldn't help but be amazed at the daring of this pilot. Tre was receiving the most rigorous jet fighter training in case he had to use one while on Earth or in the colony. He could fly almost every jet series that hadn't been destroyed already, even the old F-16's and such. He could do crazy stunts like that, but why?  
  
They decided to leave for Tre's house. No one would be there for another four hours. It would be him and the girl he loved, getting it on. Tre felt lucky...then he remembered what Nikki said this morning. He quickly took Lory aside.  
  
"Lory," Tre began. "There's something I have to tell you."  
  
"OK, but I have to tell you something first," Lory said. I have been taking birth control pills for a few months now and I took one a week ago."  
  
"Good," Tre said, relieved. "You read my mind. I forgot to buy rubbers so I didn't have any at home."  
  
"Oh," Lory said. "Well, if you didn't want anything between us, you coulda just said so."   
  
She laughed. Tre even got it after a while. Then a thought struck him.  
  
"Wait on this bench," Tre said. Lory sat down, eyeing him playfully. He took off toward the abandoned office building where he hid his Gundam. He decided to get a kiss real quick, so he ran back, pecked her on the lips, and then sprinted back. Little did he know that would be the last kiss he would get from her...alive.  
  
As soon as Tre got into the building, several mobile suits with the British insignia came down from the colony's main airlock. These suits were Space Leo suits. The large machines stomped their way down the main colony road, sweeping their rifles from side to side. The colonial citizens fled from the machines, seeking shelter in nearby buildings. One of the lead Leos stepped forward and its pilot announced through the loudspeakers,  
  
"All citizens of L2 colony X-66618 are to surrender any information about secret mobile suits known as Gundams if they wish to stay alive."  
  
Lory heard the announcement and stood up to see where it was coming from. She found out as the Leos came around the corner and spied her. They lowered their guns at her, then all the sudden, a beam of golden energy came from an office building, tearing one Leo suit apart. Lory looked behind her to see a most impressive mobile suit.   
  
"Is that...is that a Gundam?" she asked.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tre had taken out a Leo already. One down, three to go. He raised the wings on the Gundam's back (think the wings on Wing Gundam) and fired them up. He launched the DreadScythe at the other Leos in a flying tackle. He managed to knock them all down. The DreadScythe pulled out its sword, then its beam scythe, igniting the latter. The curved black blade of energy came to life. DreadScythe swung the energy weapon down onto two of the Leo suits. Both exploded into orange fireballs. DreadScythe swung the sword down toward the third Leo suit, only to have the target roll away and stand up. It raised its rifle and fired. The bullets just bounced off the Gundam and a pile of bullet slugs appeared at the Gundam's boots. What Tre just witnessed then would cause him to be just like the soon-to-be Gundam pilot Heero Yuy. He trained the sword on the Leo and sliced the mobile suit right where the legs connected to the torso. The torso fell to the ground...and the rifle fired one round. Tre saw the bullet fly right through his girlfriend's body.  
  
"OH JESUS! NO!" Tre cried.   
  
He swiftly opened the cockpit door and let the cable take him down as fast as it would allow. Tre ran to the limp, bloody remains of his girlfriend and took her head in his left hand and putting his right hand underneath her butt. The bullet went straight through her chest, leaving a hole the size of a basketball going right through to the crimson-stained ground below. Ragged shreds of flesh and tissue hung to the insides of the enormous hole in her torso.  
  
Hot tears started to flow freely down Tre's face and he started to take in shuddering breaths. Her clothes were all soaked in the deep red fluid. Tre's hands were covered in it as well. And her beautiful face was streaked in the places where Tre had stroked her cheeks from the blood pouring out of her mouth. He was sobbing immensely. He gave her one last kiss, then threw his head back and wailed like a hurt animal. He screamed at the top of his lungs, he cried out for someone to bring her back to life, he let loose every foul word he knew at the British pilots who he hoped where burning in Hell. He started to get hoarse and stopped after about five minutes.   
  
Doctor X arrived shortly after it happened and scolded Tre lightly for taking the Gundam out of the hangar without his permission. Yet, he was grieving for Lory as well. Layla flew the Gundam back to the hangar as Doctor X stayed behind to say: "Now, yeh listen tah me, lad. Yeh two were walking home when them damn soots arrived and shot at yeh both, killing her. Inexplicably, a Gundam showed out of nowhere and downed the suits, aye?"  
  
"Yes," Tre croaked.  
  
With that, the doctor left Tre until the police arrived. The police had arrived almost twenty minutes later, so had Tre's parents and Lory's parents. The EMT's placed Lory's body into a body bag, zipped it up, loaded it into the ambulance, and drove off. Tre was wrapped in the comforting arms of his mother. Then Matt Young announced to the press that his son would not be questioned due to the extreme grief he was now going through. He then walked over to Lory's parents and gave them his condolences, embracing Mrs. Walker and doing the same to Mr. Walker. The former was bawling her eyes out while Mr. Walker just stood there dazed. Matt Young walked to his wife and youngest son.   
  
Matt Young said his apologies and led his wife and son into the waiting stretch limo. Inside were the rest of Tre's siblings. All his sisters were already sniffling and tears leaked out of their eyes, down their cheeks and dropping onto the floor or into their hands which covered the faces of those sisters who didn't want to see their little brother crying. His brothers were welling up, believe it or not, and were comforting their nearby sisters or saying things to Tre that might make him feel better.  
  
"Tre has just lost his girlfriend in a crossfire with some Leos that invaded our colony," Jade Young spoke.  
  
  
  
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement.  
  
"It would be best if you all left him alone for the next week or two for him to recover as best he can from this tragedy," Matt Young said to his family.   
  
Tre continued to sob into his mother's lap the rest of the trip home.  
  
'I'll never love anyone outside my family again,' Tre thought to himself. 'Especially if I am going to be a Gundam pilot.'  
  
And so we see the famous Tre break into 'Perfect Soldier' mode. I don't want to pressure anyone, but, coughcoughreviewcoughcough! 


	5. The Mission

Aight y'all. This is the next installment to the story. It isn't the best in the way of Gundam action, but I can only do so much. Keep those reviews coming so I can better the story for you and for all who may want to read it. And if anyone knows a bunch of Japanese phrases, please e-mail me at fightinfalcon16@yahoo.com.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, which belongs to Sunrise TV/Sotsu Agency, Inc. and Asahi TV. Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me either, that belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns do belong to me so no using them without permission.  
  
Chapter 5 - The Mission  
  
'Alright, the colony has been evacuated, the lights have been turned off, and life support systems are down. Bring 'em on,' Tre thought to himself.  
  
Four years after Tre lost Lory to the Leos, he is once again piloting the DreadScythe to defend his colony. He had just gotten his mission from Doctor X to defend his colony then run like a bat out of Hell to the L2 colony nearest X-66618. He would then get further instructions.  
  
Right now, DreadScythe had its back to a wall of the main elevator to the colony. All it had to do was turn to its right and look straight out the door. Slowly, Tre circled the DreadScythe to peek around the corner.   
  
Three Virgos and two Serpents were making their way down the main road. Every so often they would turn their heads, point their rifles, and then start walking again. Soon, all five mobile suits were about 50 yards from DreadScythe. Tre had to act quick. His heartbeat and respiratory rate remained the same: calm.   
  
DreadScythe then drew the large beam rifle from its place on the right leg, held the gun vertical near the Gundam's body, and slowly began to squeeze the trigger. Golden energy formed in the barrel, then the gun extended in two places, revealing spiral vents (like on Gene Starwind's caster gun), which began to rotate with the energy spilling away. Then, DreadScythe turned quickly around the corner, aimed, and let loose. The wide beam lighted the surroundings and raced toward the five suits. It hit all five, which began to peel away and finally vaporize.   
  
DreadScythe put the gun back in its holster and took off. All the rockets on its backpack and in the wings were going full blast. DreadScythe ignited the beam scythe and took four lightning quick slashes at the colony roof, then kicked it open to go outside. As it sped around the "wheel" of the colony it was met with heavy fire. Easily dodging the bullets, the DreadScythe continued on its way to the nearest L2 colony. Then a suit dared to get in the path. DreadScythe slashed at it with the scythe and sped on. Then Tre noticed the four carriers off the shuttle runway and decided to take them all out. DreadScythe put the scythe in its place on the Gundam's back and drew the rifle once more. He let the weapon charge until the energy wasn't gold but pale yellow then almost white. DreadScythe let it loose, the powerful white beam hurtling towards the four MS carriers. With success, all four had exploded into great orange-yellow fireballs. DreadScythe then sped off toward the colony.  
  
'Boy, I hope this is a good mission,' Tre thought.  
  
When DreadScythe reached the outer hangar, it pushed a lever on the wall to close the door. DreadScythe then walked to what looked like a 20th century space shuttle, only it was 2 times as long, 1.5 times as wide, the wingspan 3 times larger, since it had seven long bulky pods surrounding it, and a conical structure erupting from behind the flight deck to shield the pods. This was for aerodynamics and for protection against the heat of reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.  
  
"Tre," a Scottish voice came over the comm system. "I've bin waitin' fer yeh."  
  
"Doctor X," Tre spoke in monotone.  
  
"I need yeh in the control room," Doctor X said.  
  
"Be right there," Tre said.   
  
He shut the Gundam down, closed the visor on his helmet, and opened the cockpit door. He was in a space suit like the Gundam pilots wore when they invaded Libra. Over that suit he wore his sleeveless trench coat. His helmet lights were on so he could see where the door was in the cavernous hangar. He found it, launched himself toward it in the Zero G environment, and opened it. As soon as he did, he was met by bright white light within the airlock. Then came the hiss of pressurized air. Tre then removed his helmet and began to breathe in fresh oxygen. Tre opened the door to the control room to see Doctor X standing there.   
  
He was a middle-aged man of about 43, he stood at 5' 3", had short dark gray hair parted in the middle and combed down the sides. His dull gray eyes showed even more the stress he went through in his years. His gray pencil thin mustache was streaked with silver hairs of age, under his small squat nose. He had his hands in his long white lab coat pockets, which covered his burgundy button shirt and his khaki pants. He seemed to be staring off to space when he noticed Tre walk in.  
  
"Ah, the man of the hour," Doctor X said, sullen. "Tre, do you realize what today is?"  
  
"Yes," Tre said in monotone. "It's the fourth anniversary of the death of your niece, my girlfriend. If only that damned machine wasn't being hunted for."   
  
As Tre said that last part, he stared out of the large window at the Gundam he piloted. It stood there silent as a statue, however, it radiated an aura of death and destruction. It almost seemed like an innocent machine while it stood in solitude. But Tre knew better.  
  
"Tre, that is exactly why weh need to kill the king of the Britons," Doctor X said.  
  
"Which is also why you're sending me on this mission," Tre replied.  
  
"Aye."  
  
"So, what is my mission?"  
  
"You are to find the former Gundam pilots, persuade them to help in our cause, and bring 'em back 'ere."  
  
"OK," Tre said. "I'll accept this mission. And how are the other pilots going to fight? They blew their Gundams up on Earth early last year."  
  
"Tre," Doctor X smiled, "what do yeh think es en those pods?"  
  
"Five of them are occupied with the Project Meteor Gundams?" Tre asked.  
  
"Aye!" Doctor X said excitedly.  
  
"You rebuilt them with mine?" Tre asked, astonished.  
  
"No, not exactly," Doctor X said. "I had the original construction teams from each of the Gundams to rebuild them but in a new design. Come 'ere."  
  
What could the Gundams possibly turn out to look like? I have a whole lot of chapters all written up, however, depending on what you put in your reviews, I will change their content slightly. SO PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	6. The Neo Gundams

Hey there! Here we are, chapter number six and the first look at the new Gundams. I had a little trouble with this chapter because I didn't want anything to seem redundant about these with the previous Gundams, however, I did incorporate features of both series and EW suits, plus a little modifications of my own. Hope you enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing, not mine. Sailor Moon not mine, either. Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns are mine however.  
  
Chapter 6 - The Neo Gundams  
  
Doctor X motioned for Tre to follow him to a blank wall screen. The screen glowed to life, showing first a redesigned Wing Zero in bird mode. If you could imagine the FX-1682, crossed with the Neo Bird Mode of the former Wing Zero, which is what the new Wing looked like in bird mode. In Gundam mode, it looked the same as Wing Zero however, it had both the variable geometry wings of the Wing Gundam and the rocket pods of the Wing Zero. The legs of this new Zero had the same look as DreadScythe's boots, but looked as though it was wearing a loose pair of white pants and the boots were silver. The torso still had the large emerald hemisphere in the center of its blue chest, but the chest was flatter than that of the Wing Gundam or Wing Zero, more human like. The head had a helmet in gray but this helmet had the flares of the previous Zero coming to a sharper point. The crest came from the back of the helmet and rose toward the front with the camera housing inside and behind the green window. It still had beam sabers stowed in the shoulder guards and the shield (same as before, only now it is blue background with a silver canopy where the yellow canopy was), and the Buster rifle is still double-barreled, but one barrel is twice as powerful as the twin Buster rifle of the previous Zero, making the whole cannon four times more powerful than its predecessor.  
  
The Neo Deathscythe Hell looked better as well. Redesigning the fold over wings into more of a cape provided more protection for all of the Gundam, instead of just the torso. When opened, the cape turned into fearsome demon wings, which can fold like bird's wings and flap-thrust capability (like the Zero in EW). The shoulder guards were smaller this time but had better thrusters within. The torso looked the same, except for a new paint job (silver ribs instead of gold), the head had the helmet of the first Deathscythe and the overall look too, however the goatee was painted black instead of red. The legs were gray pants until the black boots started at mid-shin. The backpack of this Gundam remained the same as always, no changes there. The new scythe was twin-bladed, but instead of one scythe, there were two on this new model crisscrossing the back of this Gundam. Finally, being only a close-range Gundam was no more, for the Neo Deathscythe Hell had a pair of enlarged Uzi's, one in holsters on each thigh.  
  
The Neo Heavyarms was a sight to behold (a lot like the Heavyarms in EW, but better). Besides the fact that this Gundam had twin Gatlings on each arm, there were four chest Gatlings. The Gatlings on the arms could be removed and stashed on the Gundam's back because the new Heavyarms had arm blades just like the DreadScythe did, only they would be blue blades. The legs had dark blue boots up to (guess where?) mid-shin where it then went dark gray pants. The missile packs on the legs were twenty percent larger in capacity, as the shoulder packs were fifty percent larger in capacity, meaning more missiles. The backpack and head were pretty much the same as the Heavyarms CUSTOM suit, no change there.  
  
The Neo Sandrock had the same paint job as before, but the sickles it carried were the same as the Sandrock CUSTOM carried. The crest on its helmet had a pushed back, spiky look. The shoulder guards were larger and more elaborate with numerous thinner slabs ending in points. The macro missiles were still there, but there would be a rack underneath the launcher with five missile per rack. The face on Sandrock had a cold gray shade, and a blood colored goatee. The shield had a sleek cobra hood look. The legs were a pale purple pants with the black boots. Finally, the Sandrock had twin machine guns (like the one it had in the series) placed in holsters on its thighs (like the new Deathscythe) and Quatre would have the option of having the Sandrock wear a protective cloak (again, EW's Sandrock CUSTOM).  
  
Finally, the Neo Altron. This Gundam was mostly black and orange. The torso was painted in black the door painted a fire orange. The Gundam's head was in what looked like the black head of a dragon. The faceplate had light gray claw marks going diagonally across its dark gray face (on purpose). The teeth popped up every two feet, one part of the jaw on each side of the Gundams head, and the eyes of the dragon helmet were extra cameras, glowing green like the Gundam's regular eyes. The nose on the helmet came out ever so slightly between the eyes of the Gundam and the horns protruded from the back (the horns resembled the horns of Draco the dragon in DragonHeart). The goatee was painted a deep forest green color. The shoulder guards were black and the extensions to the arms were a deep orange in color. Tre then saw the Dragon Fang on each of the Gundam's arms. They almost looked like real dragonheads (think Draco again, with a longer and narrower snout). When folded against the arms, they looked like black wristbands on the Gundam, but when deployed for attack they looked as fearsome as the real thing. Glowing green eyes set into a black head with pointed golden fangs from the top and bottom jaws and golden horns pointing from the back of the head. This new Gundam could stretch its arms within 360 feet each. The wings on the back were separate like the previous Altron had. Only these wings were like real wings. Dragon wings the color of fire, these could unfold to strike fear into the enemy like Nataku should do. The stinger tailgun was in the same place, but it was forest green and had four barrels in a diamond formation instead of two side-by-side. Also, the new beam weapons were a combination trident and glaive, one end for each weapon and a pair of beam katanas. The hilts, when the blades weren't extended, were in sheaths and held by magnets. Then, the charcoal gray pant legs of Neo Altron ended in black boots with fiery orange streaks on them.  
  
"You did a great job on these Gundams' reconstruction," Tre said.   
  
He stood in awe of what one scientist envisioned on five other scientists' work. The new Gundams were magnificent, to say the least. They were unbelievable!  
  
  
  
'I can't wait to see these in battle,' Tre thought. He then turned to the older man and said,  
  
"What about the seventh hold, what is, or will be, in it?"  
  
The scientist laughed, it was a comforting belly laugh. "Whar have yeh bin?"  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Dun't yeh remember? Yer friend, Pyrone Reigns, had the Backlash."  
  
"Yeah," Tre said, monotone. "Now I do."  
  
"The scientist who built his Gundam didn't send me any data on the Backlash."  
  
"I understand."  
  
The scientist smiled, then a sudden change in mood occurred.  
  
"Well, off with yeh, gut teh find the othur pilots now," he said laughing.   
  
He ushered Tre to the doorway, where Tre put his helmet back on. Tre closed the visor then stepped into the airlock. With a loud whoosh, the pressurized air escaped the room. Tre turned the helmet lights on and headed back to his Gundam.   
  
He had to load it in the most easily accessible empty hold. The DreadScythe walked on the right side of the shuttle, opened the highest hold on the right. It was empty, so Tre thrusted very easily to maneuver the large machine into the hold. As soon as DreadScythe was settled in, the large doors closed on the hold. Tre opened the cockpit door and saw a door just above DreadScythe's right shoulder. He opened the door, which opened to a catwalk. The seven doors to the holds were on each side of a heptagonal corridor. Tre leapt toward the flight deck.   
  
He sat in the left seat, the pilot's seat. He then brought this mammoth shuttle to life. The control switches all lit up and one by one, the computer screens came online. He brought the straps about himself and snapped each into the buckle resting on his navel. Then, he tightened the straps. 'Time to get this show out to space,' Tre thought to himself. 'I just hope those former pilots are willing to come and help us.'  
  
"Tre," Doctor X's face came on a small viewscreen situated in the middle of the two main windows.   
  
"What now?" Tre said calmly. He was flipping the main engine start-up switches.  
  
"The catapult is ready to launch when you are," the scientist said.  
  
"Good," Tre said. "Get ready to launch in fifteen seconds."  
  
"Aye!"   
  
"T-minus 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...LET 'ER RIP!"  
  
The combined force of the catapult and the main engines thrust power was incredible! The catapult shot through the open doorway and into trouble.   
  
The British Serpents and Virgos were firing relentlessly on the shuttle. Tre shut down shuttle life support. He didn't want to blow up this early in the game. The fire still came, but every single round missed. The shuttle shot off the small ski slope of a ramp and into space. The colony seemed nothing more than a toy at the moment but it kept getting smaller, smaller, smaller, until it was a speck of metal.   
  
Tre quickly did a preliminary status check on the shuttle for damage; the shuttle came out intact. All systems showed green, in perfect working order, and a partridge in a pear tree. Tre then set the autopilot for the L1 colony cluster. Heero Yuy was the first of the Gundam pilots to be reached, according to the mission. Tre floated to his quarters at the end of the shuttle, wrapped himself up in a sleeping bag attached to the wall, and went to sleep.  
  
Okay, now he's safe and sound with the new Gundams. So, where's he going to go? Who will he find? The next few chapters will include all the characters we know and love (maybe have a crush on, because I know you girls just LOVE Duo). 


	7. Heero Yuy

Whazzup everyone? OK, so no one gets confused, when the scenes involving Gundams are going, I will say that "Zero sits itself up" instead of "Heero made Zero sit up". For one it is shorter and a lot easier to read. Also, I will do one chapter for each of the pilots meeting with Tre. Some will be long or short depending on what you put in your reviews.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns.  
  
Chapter 7 - Heero Yuy  
  
The emergency beacon flashed and sounded in Tre's helmet, waking him. He stirred, then looked at the time, and his air gauge. He was running low on air so he unzipped the bag and floated to the tank room. This room was in the middle of the aft bulkhead and had ten rows of racks stacked on top of each other. Each column was numbered after each Gundam (00, 02, 03, and so on) and each column contained ten tanks, meaning each pilot got ten tanks. All the tanks ran on a conveyer, take a tank from the top, put the empty one on the bottom once the belt went up. The tanks on the bottom were then refilled with air by a silver pressure hose connected to the main refilling cells.  
  
Tre touched a pad nearby and entered the life support activation code. The vents opened and air filled the cabin. Tre removed his helmet, then his trench coat, and finally freed himself of his spacesuit. He had a pair of sunshine yellow Spandex shorts and a white tank top on.  
  
Tre turned his spacesuit around and removed the empty tank from his suit's backpack. He let the tank float freely as he retrieved the fresh tank on the top of the zero-six column. The belt of tanks in that column moved up. Tre put the fresh tank into the spacesuit backpack and put the empty one in the empty bottom slot. The silver hose immediately coupled with the tank's valve and began to fill it with air.  
  
Tre then put his suit back on, followed by his helmet, and went to venture in the cargo bay.  
  
As he floated around the hold, he found that Doctor X spared no commodity. There were plenty of ammunition boxes for each Gundam to last two full blown battles. The tools and spare parts for quick repairs to the mobile suits between such battles were all catalogued and separated into groups for each suit. Plenty of food and water for seven people for four weeks was in airtight containers. Tre laughed at what he saw next.  
  
There within the cargo hold were his two finest vehicles. The black Rush Extreme special edition car, the car he worked on with his sister was there. This sleek car was a cross between a Dodge Viper and a Jaguar XJ220 (AN: The best I could come up with just judging by the car on the box for the N64 game Rush). The front lines were the combination of both, with four lamps in each headlight with a crystal clear plexyglass cover. There wasn't much of a grill, just an elongated and very thin oval to vent engine heat. And this car could generate engine heat. This car's top speed was clocked at 315 miles per hour. In addition to a 908 CI V16 engine with direct port nitrous injection, an eight speed manual transmission, this car had 20 inch chrome wheels with three spokes starting wide then thinning near the rims. Also, the 12.5 centimeter chrome exhaust pipes enhanced the already fearsome roar of the engine, making that puma purr in idle a deep rumble. When Tre would punch the gas, that rumble turned into an all out roar that would send the lion king crying for its mommy (AN: I had to put something REMOTELY funny in here).   
  
The next vehicle was a black jetbike that Layla ultimately bequeathed to him. It had the body of a motorcycle, but it had a jet engine instead of a V-Twin. The cylindrical engine started with the turbine blades at the back of the well of where the front wheel would be and the thrust-vectoring nozzle poked sligthly beyond the tailight, if the bike were viewed from the top. On the sides of the engine housing were steering airfoils, attached to the housing by thin rods. These airfoils were about a foot and a half long and about four inches from leading edge to trailing edge. They angled downward at a shallow 30 degrees, if viewed from the front of the bike. This jetbike hovered about a good nine inches off the ground and this could vary by directing the gimbaling engine up or down.   
  
The windshield was pretty standard, as windshields on speedcycles usually come, but the headlight was another interesting feature. Set in a diamond shape, the four lamps sat behind a clear cover. Then the standard rear view mirrors you see on most speedbikes.   
  
Tre finally came out of the cargo hold as the shuttle was slowing down to approach an L1 colony. He sat down in the pilot's seat as he took his helmet of and rolled his suit down to his waist. Tre put on a comm headset, then began to talk to the control tower.  
  
"Colony control tower," Tre said into the mic, "this is shuttle Nightshift, requesting docking clearance."  
  
"Shuttle Nightshift, that is a negative," a female voice responded. "You are too large to dock in our colony hangar."  
  
"Tower, I'll dock in your hangar and leave plenty of space for another shuttle my size, so just clear me," Tre replied, angered.  
  
"(Sigh) All right shuttle Nightshift," the girl snapped. "You're clear to dock (asshole)."  
  
Tre then removed the headset and gently thrusted the large craft into the hangar. He drifted awfully close to the ceiling, almost scraping his tailfin on the high hangar. Tre adjusted his attitude and set the shuttle down softly and level.   
  
Tre had a thought for a minute, then furrowed his brow, and looked outside of the window. He then placed the headset on again.  
  
"Tower, shuttle Nightshift," Tre spoke into the mic.  
  
"Yes, go ahead," the same girl responded.  
  
"If there were another entry into this colony that my craft could squeeze through to get inside, where would it be?" Tre asked.  
  
"Well, it would be right in front of you if the hangar were pressurized and closed."  
  
"Thank you tower, shuttle Nightshift out."  
  
Tre then hung the headset up again. He went to his quarters to change into his normal attire: everything Sailor Universe wore minus the weapons and tiara and the shirt with the symbol. That he replaced with a black long sleeve Quiksilver shirt, the logo on the chest, the name on the left sleeve.  
  
Once Tre had dressed, he exited through the pressurized walkway attached to his shuttle. He walked through walkway door, then through another door, and finally was in the colony. He noted that the colony closed the hangar and pressureized it in about ten minutes.  
  
'Well,' Tre thought, 'it is the perfect span of time for me to get some food.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hn," came the familiar grunt of disapproval. Heero Yuy was having no success in hacking into the Britons defense network mainframe. He had sat there for twenty straight hours at one point just trying every code he knew off the top of his head. He then rested up and tried again. But no such luck. Heero, disappointed, turned off the laptop and snapped it shut. He stepped out of the darkness of his apartment into the warm light of the colonial sun simulation lights.   
  
He sported his usual outfit: green tank, tight black shorts, and the yellow shoes. His unkempt brown hair was messier than usual from sleep and hacking cutting into Heero's grooming time. However, his cold Prussian blue eyes remained pained and serious.   
  
He began to walk aimlessly. He wandered through markets and busy streets, bumping into some guy as they passed each other on the crosswalk. Heero looked back at the guy.  
  
He seemed to rise over the other people like the sun over the horizon. His brown dreadlocks stood out of the crowd. He was wearing all black clothes, including a long trench coat without sleeves and a long sleeve shirt with a brand name on the front. Heero just grunted and walked on.  
  
Finally, he came to a park and still he walked. Several things flashed through his mind. Why are the British attacking the Earth first? What would happen to Relena when they succeed in a coup de etat of the peace keeping foreign relations?   
  
Heero stopped and slowly sat down on a park bench. Children laughed and played at a distance in front of him. He saw a teenaged couple making out under a tree and an elderly couple feeding the birds bread crumbs. Peace was unnerving him - the Perfect Soldier - who knew nothing but to fight. If only he hadn't been so careless with Zero then he might--  
  
"On your feet," a British accented voice said to him.   
  
Heero heard a machine gun being cocked to fire at him. He just glared at the British soldier, who was wearing the old OZ uniform with British insignias. Slowly, Heero rose to his feet, still glaring at the gun-toting soldier. Heero was about to kick the gun out of the soldier's hands when he felt the ground underneath him give a slight tremor. Every other person in the park was fleeing and screaming. Women snatched up their children and ran. Men tripped over themselves while looking at the enormous mobile suits walking into the park. The elderly couple was being held at gunpoint by another British officer. Heero found himself held at gunpoint by a Serpent and a Virgo.  
  
'Great,' he thought. 'Just when things were getting interesting.'  
  
"Heero Yuy," the officer spoke. "By command of his Highness, King Charles the First, you will be executed on the spot."  
  
"No last words?" Heero asked, monotone.  
  
"Are you joking?" the officer laughed.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Prepare to meet your maker."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tre was idling along the street crosswalk when somebody bumped into him. Tre didn't need to look back to know who it was. A smile crossed his face as he walked down the sidewalk.  
  
'Nice to run into you, Heero Yuy,' he thought.  
  
He was about to stop at a little noodle house when he heard rocket motors above him. Tre looked up to see a Serpent and a Virgo flying overhead.  
  
'Oh shnap,' Tre thought.   
  
He immediately whistled shrilly and ran back to the mammoth hangar doors which stood opened. His shuttle was already parked outside and the pod doors for DreadScythe were opening slowly. Tre jumped onto the wing and then jumped onto the lower door to get inside. He opened DreadScythe's cockpit door and hopped into the seat. He threw the thick padded straps about him and buckled them tightly. He closed the cockpit door and started the engines (AN: Jet engines for use in an oxygenated environment and rocket motors for use in space or for extra speed).   
  
DreadScythe rose out of the shuttle's pod and started to walk away from the shuttle. He then had DreadScythe blast off.  
  
"Shuttle, do fly-by over Gundam zero-six in five minutes," Tre told the computers on the shuttle. "Then, release Gundam zero-zero over Gundam zero-six."  
  
"Understood," came the computerized reply.  
  
DreadScythe then flew to the park, spotted the other mobile suits and Heero.  
  
'Let's get this party started,' Tre thought.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What is that?"  
  
One officer pointed above the group at the descending mobile suit. It was free falling, or so it seemed. The black blade of a beam scythe appeared as the suit fell closer. Then, it slashed the Virgo vertically in half while it landed with a earth-shattering thud. The mobile suit looked like--  
  
"A GUNDAM!!" Heero's captive officer shouted.   
  
Heero then kicked the gun out of his hands as the Gundam tore into the Serpent with the right arm blade. Heero punched the officer square in the jaw, then pounced on his back, snapping the officer's neck. At the same moment, the Gundam slashed upward in the Serpent leaving a wide hole in the chest of the suit that lead a long gash through its head. The Serpent fell to its knees, then toppled backwards. The Gundam retracted the blade of energy into its forearm.  
  
Heero was amazed at this suit. It had black dreads hanging a little past its jawline and two rings hanging out of a spot where a left eyebrow would be. It looked quite muscular, even though Heero knew that it was strong. The Gundam also had wings like the Wing Gundam did, only these wings were black as opposed to white and it also looked like it was wearing a pair of baggy black pants and black boots coming to the middle of the shin. On the forearms were a pair of glowing powder blue hemispheres sitting on top of rectangular platforms which spread out as they connected to the forearms. Then there was the bottom of the beam scythe staff appearing from behind the Gundam's left shoulder and poking a good ways out past the shoulder. Appearing behind the right shoulder of the Gundam, and poking out a good ways past the shoulder, was a black hilt to what Heero assumed was a pure Gundanium sword. Finally, strapped to the right thigh and stretching almost all the way down the leg was a large single-barreled beam rifle.  
  
Just then, the Gundam's eyes dimmed all the way down and the cockpit door opened. The guy that Heero bumped into on the crosswalk was the pilot! The guy spoke to Heero.  
  
"Heero Yuy," he said. "I am Tre Young, pilot of Gundam zero-six and I need your help in the fight against the British. I am just one pilot, but I am on a mission to find you and the other former Gundam pilots."  
  
"Suppose I accept your invitation," Heero said back, "what will I fight the mobile suits in? I destroyed the Zero in a fight with Mariemeia Barton's mobile suit army."  
  
"Just wait."  
  
A roar of very powerful motors was heard and Heero looked up to see a large and bulky shuttle fly very low overhead. The shuttle rolled from level flight to 52 degrees to its right. It seemed to drop something like a huge bomb not twenty feet from Heero. Once the dust settled, Heero saw it and a look of surprise crossed his emotionless face.  
  
"It's the Zero!" Heero exclaimed.  
  
"Right you are," Tre said as he rode the cable down swiftly.   
  
He walked next to Heero as they made their way to the Gundam. It lay there, lifeless. The large Buster rifle in the right hand seemed to span the entire length of the Gundam's leg and then some. Heero jumped onto the Gundam and Tre followed him as the pilot of Wing Zero climbed into the cockpit.  
  
"The controls are just as I remember," Heero said, looking at the controls in awe. "How did you manage to reconstruct it to this extent?"  
  
"I didn't," Tre said. "But the scientist who built mine hired the original constructors of the Wing Gundam to do the redesign work Doctor X drew up."  
  
"Doctor X?"  
  
"DreadScythe's designer."  
  
"Your Gundam, right?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Better get off," Heero said. "I'm going to raise this thing."  
  
Tre jumped off as the eyes of Zero lit up. He heard the cockpit door close and the Zero then raised itself to a sitting position. Zero bent its right leg rolled to its left side. The left leg still lay on the ground, but in a bent position as the Zero swung its right leg to rest the boot on the ground and push up into a standing postion. It slowly turned around to look at Tre. The human was dwarfed by the 108' 4" tall Gundam. (AN: Each Gundam is twenty times taller than its pilot. The first five pilots are all five-five while Trowa is five-six [they grew taller as they grew older]. Pyrone is six-six.)   
  
"So, what do you think of Neo Wing Zero, Heero?" Tre asked.  
  
"It's amazing." The reply came through the external speakers.  
  
"So will you help me?"  
  
"Mission accepted," Heero replied.  
  
Tre couldn't help but grin. One down, four to go.  
  
Mission accepted. I love that line, it sounds so tyte/tight. Well, I'll wait for your reviews then post the next chapter as soon as possible. Later. 


	8. The British Royalty

Jolly good, and hello! Welcome to the next chapter in this saga: say hello to the British royalty. The autocrats who aim to purge freedom away from the colonies and Earth. Oh damn! It's up to Tre to find those Gundam pilots and fast! OK, the Sailor Moon element will come within the next five or six chapters so please be patient. Oh, one last thing, any British people who are reading this, I apologize in a advance if my use of the British as the enemy is offensive to you. I figured that they would try to take over the world as they did in the past before the American Revolution. I'm sorry if you are offended, truly! :) So read on and review please!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. And I don't own Sailor Moon, either. Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns I do own.  
  
Chapter 8 - The British Royalty  
  
"This is an excellent meal Neville," King Charles said.   
  
He was a large barrel chested man of about 40 with fiery red hair and a bushy beard of the same color plus a booming voice that shook like thunder when he was angry. His green eyes pierced into a man's very soul and commanded respect and authority with just his stare. He stood at 6' 5", tall for most people in his country's colony.   
  
His entire autocracy even did away with a Parliament. For the most part, his subjects fared well under his rule, however, some were very unhappy about his being in power and having so much of it.   
  
Even his daughter and only child, Princess Elizabeth, was as haughty as her father or even more so at times. She was a beautiful girl of 19 years with flowing brown hair that reached her breasts when let down. Her ice blue eyes were cold and relentless, as if she were born with the eyes of Satan himself. Her visage was of unmatched beauty, for she looked far fairer than any supermodel known to the human race. Her body was thin but not frail and her breasts were large and soft. And her voice could seduce almost any man (AN: an almost example being Tre Young).  
  
Tonight, the king was wearing a purple silk shirt tucked into purple breeches. Underneath, were pale purple stockings and black dress shoes with little red bows on them. His royal blue cape wrapped his shoulders and of course he was wearing his golden crown, the interior of which lined with red velvet of the finest quality. His regal daughter was wearing the same white gown that the former Queen Relena wore on her inauguration, her silver tiara set upon her flowing hair.  
  
"Thank you, your majesty," the chef said.  
  
"Yes, Neville, it is excellent," Princess Elizabeth said, "however, this soup is just too salty."  
  
"I'll fire the soup cook."  
  
"Thank you, Neville," the princess said.  
  
"Well, daughter," the king spoke, "have you chosen a future husband yet?"  
  
"Father, don't be silly," the princess laughed, "you know that Shawn Chamberlin is my betrothed."  
  
"Shawn Chamberlin?" the king asked. "The mobile suit Wing Commander?"  
  
"Yes father. He is to be promoted soon, I do believe."  
  
"But isn't he a little old for you?"  
  
"Nonsense, he is only twenty-four."  
  
The king seemed to ponder this, then nodded. 'He is a smart military man and very good at directing his troops,' the king thought, 'not to mention his perfect record. Zero losses or draws! Well, all right then, it shall be done.'  
  
Just then, Shawn Chamberlin, 45th Mobile Suit Division Wing Commander walked into the dining room. He was a tall, lean fellow with bleach blonde hair set into many spikes. His pale green eyes were always wide and alert, perched above his small nose. His chin was covered by a very short dark beard, while the rest of his face was cleanly shaven. A smirk crossed his pale face while he walked with an air of malice into the dining room. His red wing commander uniform was decked with many leaves of gold for his distinguished service, the many buttons that slanted from his shoulders to his waist gleamed of fresh polish, making the gold shine. A black cape surrounded his right arm and shoulder. This was Shawn "Spike" Chamberlin.  
  
"Have no fear your majesties, Spike is here," Shawn spoke, bowing. He had a deep, yet reedy voice for someone of his age and rank.  
  
"Rise," the king said. Shawn did so and walked to the chair nearest to the princess.  
  
"Please sit," the princess said. Shawn sat down, staring into the eyes of his betrothed. Then the king cleared his throat and began to speak again.  
  
"Now, Shawn, what is the news on the execution scheduled for this morning?"  
  
"The one officer who managed to escape said that they were unsuccessful in their mission due to the fact that a Gundam showed up, sire," Shawn replied.  
  
"A Gundam?"  
  
"Yes, your Highness."  
  
"Impossible, they were all blown up early last year."  
  
"That's what I said to Private Denkins, sire, however he insisted that it was a Gundam we have never seen before."  
  
"ONE WE HAVE NOT SEEN SINCE WHEN?" the king roared. His face was redder than his hair.  
  
"Umm...I, couldn't get a straight answer out of him," Shawn faltered.  
  
"You and your men had better find out which Gundam that is," the king seethed.  
  
"Y-yes y-y-your Highness," Shawn stuttered.  
  
"You are dismissed sir," the king said.  
  
With that, Shawn stood and left. The dining room was quiet again, then Elizabeth got up and left. She met Shawn in the corridor, who was leaning against a wall, and had a private chat.  
  
"That father of yours is a real stick in my craw," Shawn hissed.  
  
"Ssh, don't talk," Elizabeth told him as she put a finger to his lips.  
  
"Yeah, all right."  
  
"Soon, we'll be wed, then we can kill my father and become the king and queen of the British, proud and determined to purge the earth and colonies of democracy and free will. Then we'll have all we want, we could do whatever we want."  
  
"Your voice it sounds so soothing and yet I can't help but feel ravenous about you."  
  
"Then take me."  
  
She closed her eyes and thrust her lips onto his and they started to kiss. He turned her around and pressed her against the wall. Then, he started to paw her supple breasts as she wrapped her arms about his back. They released their lips for air and started probing each others mouths with their tongues. This went on for a minute and then she gently pushed him away.  
  
"Not yet, my dear," she cooed to him.   
  
She swung her hips suggestively as she sauntered away. He just stared after her for a moment and then went to the mobile suit hangar. The new Gundam Xonyx (AN: Pronounced "zoniks") was near completion, just another six months and it would be ready. The Gundam was supposedly to look like him in a black tank and loose olive green fatigues pants covered by black boots that reached the Gundam's knees. The many spikes that would be on the Gundam's head would be a sensor array capable of detecting heat, sound vibrations and sound waves, and radar energy.  
  
'This should be quite the match for this new Gundam,' Shawn thought. 


	9. Duo Maxwell

Hey you Duo fans! Here is where Tre finds Duo, and it gets bloody so don't back out just yet! Action chapter alert! I'm still perfecting my Gundam action scenes. After they find Wufei, then the Scouts will come in, so don't worry.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, which belongs to Sunrise, TV/Sotsu Agency and Asahi TV. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. I own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns.  
  
Chapter 9 - Duo Maxwell  
  
"No, this one won't do," Duo Maxwell said as he threw yet another bolt away.   
  
He was perched on top of the small mountain of junk from which he made his business. He had the same Cobalt blue eyes and chestnut brown hair which he kept in a long, neat braid. His temperment and character were the same as well, especially for someone who used to be Shinigami.   
  
He shuffled further into the pile and found another bolt. He sighed and threw that one away as well. He removed the gloves and slowly slid down the pile. His face was crossed with disappointment. He needed that bolt if he was going to build himself a car. He entered the small office and sat in the chair behind the desk, putting his booted feet on the desk and leaning back.   
  
Hilde came back from grocery shopping. She looked at Duo and smiled to herself while thinking, 'He works too hard for someone his age.' He looked at her, then said,  
  
"Hey Hilde, what's shakin'?"  
  
"Oh, nothing much," was the reply. "Just found out that a new Gundam destroyed two mobile suits in an L1 colony."  
  
"WHAT?" Duo yelled.  
  
"Yeah," Hilde said, "that's what I said. But who would build a new Gundam? Duo?"  
  
Duo had his finger on his chin, thinking of who it might be. 'Heero? No, no, the guy wouldn't have the financial backing. Trowa is too busy with the circus, Quatre has a family business to run, and Wufei is with the Preventers. So it has to be someone else that we don't know yet.' This was bothering Duo, a lot. He took a black baseball cap and stuck it on his head and walked out of the building saying,  
  
"I'm going for a walk, see ya later Hilde."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Are you sure this is the right colony, Heero?" Tre asked.  
  
"Yeah," Heero replied.  
  
"Fine then. Control, this is shuttle Nightshift, requesting docking clearance, over."  
  
"Shuttle, control," a male voice said. "That's affirmative, you have clearance."  
  
"Thank you control."  
  
Tre hung the headset on its hook and guided the shuttle in very slowly. He extended the gear and set down nearest to the large cargo door. He told Heero to take the Zero so he could put the Deathscythe and DreadScythe in the elevator, leave the Zero there as well and to meet him at the downtown park. Heero grunted in reply and disappeared into the aft portion of the shuttle, where the Gundams pods were. Once Tre saw that all three suits were gone, he put on his spacesuit and exited the shuttle through the airlock. Once he was outside, he leapt to the airlock door leading into the colony. Once the room was pressurized, he removed his spacesuit and helmet as he walked out. Then, he stuffed the suit and helmet into a black duffel bag. Tre put the bag into a locker at the check through counter. He proceed into the colony after that was done.  
  
'OK Maxwell,' Tre thought. 'Where in flippin' Hell would you go?'  
  
The park was too obvious a choice. That wouldn't be it. Tre had a premonition and pulled out a black pistol that had a slight barrel extension. He ejected the clip to see if it was full. It was, twenty bullets all stacked up, one more already in the chamber. He slammed the clip back in and pulled the slide back as far as it would go before releasing it to fall back into its normal position. He switched on the safety, then holstered the weapon, only to produce a matching pistol. He performed the same actions on this pistol as he did for the first one. After he cocked the slide and switched the safety, he holstered that one as well. Finally, he pulled out his shotgun, loaded a shell into it, and pumped the weapon before returning it to its holster on his right leg.   
  
All the weapons were easily concealed beneath his trench coat. There were empty holsters on his utility belt for his Uzis, but he left them on the shuttle. They weren't working very well because they hadn't been cleaned out in a while. So Tre just walked to the nearest bar for a stiff drink. A place called G's. Tre walked in and sat on a barstool next to a guy with a black baseball cap and a long chestnut braid.  
  
'Hello, Duo Maxwell,' Tre thought with a smile.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Duo had gone to his favorite bar, G's. Apparently, one of the original constructors of Deathscythe was the owner and named it after the scientist who hired him. So Duo already knew the guy (he was about to kill everyone, including himself, in the hangar where Deathscythe was constructed). Duo was only 18 though, still a bit roudy after drinking. But the owner let it slide since he knew Duo, and Duo was always a responsible drinker (yeah right!).   
  
"Hey Clyde," Duo called over the music. "Gimme the usual, on the rocks!"  
  
"Sure thing, Duo," Clyde answered back.  
  
Clyde was a burly construction worker by trade, yet his crass sense of the human nature landed him in the bar he owns today. His short dark hair was slicked back and his chin sprouted long dark hairs of his beard. The guy looked more fit for the military than anyone Duo knew, especially when Clyde wore his infantry fatigues and a green muscle shirt and black combat boots.   
  
Clyde placed the empty glass with ice in front of Duo and poured the amber colored whiskey in until the glass was brimming. Duo laid the ten on the counter and Clyde scooped it up. This was routine for Duo, who would have his next drink coming to him after he finished the first since it was five dollars for one glass of whiskey.  
  
Duo noticed a guy sitting next to him at the bar. This guy seemed like his was a tall fellow, maybe six-four, Duo guessed. This guy had brown dreadlocks reaching past his jawline, Prussian blue eyes that reminded Duo of Heero, and a pair of platinum rings in this guy's left eyebrow. He was wearing a long sleeve black shirt with the Quiksilver insignia, Duo noticed, and he had on a pair of baggy black jeans which were stopped a little bit below the knee by black boots with wide straps going across the leg of the boots. Over all of this was a sleeveless black trench coat.  
  
"Bartender," the guy spoke in a deep and serious voice.  
  
"How can I help you?" Clyde said.  
  
"I would like a Kamikaze, if it isn't too much trouble."  
  
"No, no trouble at all."  
  
Clyde walked away for a moment to prepare this guy's drink. Then things got really interesting for Duo.  
  
"You Duo Maxwell?" the guy asked Duo.  
  
"Who wants to know?" Duo said suspiciously.  
  
"The pilot of the Gundam in the L1 colony yesterday."  
  
Duo's eyes got wide, wider than usual. He just stared at this guy, this pilot of the new Gundam he heard about from Hilde.  
  
"Y-y-you're h-him?" Duo squeaked.  
  
"Mm-hmm," the guy nodded. "Name's Tre Young, Gundam pilot zero-six."  
  
"Uh-huh," Duo said. "Well, Tre Young, what do you want from me?"  
  
"I need you to help me get rid of those British assholes."  
  
"You a resistance fighter?" Clyde asked, putting Tre's drink down.  
  
"You could say that," Tre answered.  
  
"God knows I hate those British fuckers, too."  
  
"I'm sure a lot of American people dislike them. Or even hate them."  
  
"You got that right pal," Duo piped.  
  
"So, Duo," Clyde started. "You gonna help this guy?"  
  
"Clyde," Duo said. "If I had Deathscythe I would join this guy in a heartbeat."  
  
"Seeing as you don't, then it would be hard to fight," Clyde said.  
  
Just then, the sound of breaking glass and wood being smashed was heard. Several people started screaming as guns were being cocked and safeties being unlatched. Everyone immediately stopped screaming and scrambling around the bar. Then, a high ranking mobile suit pilot walked in. His face was covered by a British OZ cap and sunglasses. His rank was emminent of the uniform he wore. His voice broke the silence as he said,  
  
"I'm looking for a Gundam pilot, his name is Duo Maxwell. Anybody know him?"  
  
No one answered, then Clyde shouted,  
  
"Hey, you're ruining my business."  
  
"Calm down my good man," the pilot said. "My men and I will buy some drinks in a minute. First, we have to know where Duo Maxwell is. Do you know him?"  
  
"Sorry," Clyde answered. "Haven't seen him for weeks. So, you guys going to order or what?"  
  
The pilot seemed to consider this, then he said, "Yeah, all right."  
  
The soldiers slowly lowered their guns and set the hammers to their safe positions. The soldiers slung their guns onto their backs and took the remaining seats at the bar, ordering domestic brews and imports. The high ranking pilot sat next to Tre, then removed his cap and glasses. Tre had a look of surprise when he saw this guy.  
  
'Bleach blonde spikes, pale green eyes, short beard, and a bad attiutde,' Tre thought. 'I know this guy.'  
  
Tre had to know for sure if it was Shawn Chamberlin. So he asked,  
  
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be Shawn Chamberlin, would you?"  
  
"Why yes I would," Shawn replied with a haughty air. "How did you know?"  
  
"Four years ago, you had a 'relationship' with Nikki Young, right?"  
  
"What?" Shawn said, shocked. "How did you know?"  
  
Tre was slowly releasing the safety on his pistol, while keeping this guy busy.  
  
"How I know is that she is my sister," Tre said, anger dripping off his words.  
  
"You're Tre Young?" Shawn said aghast.  
  
Tre then pulled the gun out and pointed it at Shawn's head. Quickly, he cocked the hammer, ready to fire. The rest of the soldiers saw what was happening and they crowded around Tre, cocking the hammers and resetting the slides. Tre looked about him quickly, and smiled at Shawn.   
  
"Never underestimate your opponents Shawn," Tre said.   
  
Tre then kicked the guy behind him, sending him toppling backwards, and pistol whipped the guy on his right once, seized his arm, pulled him in front as a human shield. Tre pulled the trigger on the soldier's machine gun, while Tre circled around. Some soldiers ducked while others were hit by the bullets in the heart or vital organs. Another soldier plugged the soldier Tre was using as a shield. The body shook with the impact of the bullets and blood sprayed everywhere. Tre sent the human shield flying into the other soldier. Tre then fell to his knees, pulled the other pistol out and pumped the live soldier full of lead with both guns. The live soldier was whipped to and fro by the bullets hitting him in the left and right lungs, alternately. Both bodies hit the floor, with sickening thuds. Tre holstered the two empty pistols, twirled on his knees and produced the shotgun. One soldier stood behind Tre and was prepared to fire, then Duo broke a full bottle of beer over that soldiers head, rendering him unconscious. Rolling onto his back, then flipping over onto his feet, Tre stood up and plugged the soldier at the back of the bar, blood spraying the back wall. This soldier fell on his knees, blood spurting from his mouth, and fell face first on the floor. One soldier was left and he tried his machine gun, but it was empty. Tre tried his shotgun, it was empty. Both men threw their weapons on the ground and started hand-to-hand combat.   
  
Tre threw off his trench coat and pulled out his switchblade. He opened it, not reciting the incantation that would transform him. He slashed at the soldier, but was not getting anywhere. He heard the soldier's thoughts and jabbed the blade at him. The soldier blocked with his forearm, then Tre gave him a good left hook, then hit the soldier with his elbow. Tre palmed the guys nose, breaking it and making the soldier's eyes tear up. The soldier was bent over, hands over his broken nose. Tre held onto his hair, and kneed the soldier in the face...hard. The soldier flew backwards, then Tre stabbed the soldier in the heart, then sliced through his lung. The soldier gagged on his own blood, then collapsed to the floor and died. Shawn managed to slip out of the bar during the struggle, unnoticed.  
  
"You must be a popular person to attract this much attention with the Brits," Duo said.  
  
"Yeah," Tre admitted. "I am."  
  
Clyde and the rest of the people in the bar gawked at the carnage one guy could produce and not getting a scratch on him. Tre picked his coat up off the floor and downed his drink, slamming the glass down and sighing loudly.   
  
Tre looked to Duo and said,   
  
"Meet me at the downtown park." Duo nodded. Tre started to walk out, then threw a wad of bills at Clyde.  
  
"That's for the drink and to clean this place up," Tre said. "Sorry about the mess."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Heero spotted Tre at the entrance of the park and walked to meet him on the sidewalk.   
  
"Duo will be here any minute," Tre told Heero.  
  
"Hn," was Heero's reply.  
  
"I had a little trouble at the bar with some British mobile suit pilots."  
  
"Yeah, I saw their suits lined up at the elevator entrance."  
  
"Did anyone spot the Gundams?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, the Brits are going to invade this colony with more suits as well, so we might as well get ready until Duo--"  
  
"Hey, Tre! Heero!" Duo called across the park.   
  
He ran to where they were standing. Tre then told Duo that there would be more suits coming into the colony.  
  
"What would I fight in?" Duo asked urgently.  
  
"The Deathscythe," Heero answered flatly.  
  
"Hello, I blew it up on Earth, Heero," Duo said, exasperated.  
  
"I have a new one sitting in the elevator," Tre said. "Will you help me fight the British, or do you want to return to your peaceful life until they find you again?"  
  
Duo answered quickly, "I'll fight with you."  
  
"Good," Heero said. "Now stay here."  
  
Duo stayed where he was, while Tre and Heero ran off. Pretty soon, Duo felt the ground beneath him shaking, and he ran for cover by climbing into a tree. Then the trees on the North side of the park snapped and revealed seven mobile suits: one white Serpent, five black Virgos, and one black Taurus. The Serpent had the lead, since it was the manned suit, and it looked this way and that for any activity. The park was abandoned today for some strange reason, but that wasn't bothering Duo at the moment. The suits were getting awfully close to his tree. That's when Duo heard the roar of rocket motors overhead and tried to get a good look through the foliage.  
  
He saw the Zero carrying Deathscythe and another mobile suit flying alongside the Zero. The new mobile suit drew a sword and started to dive at the mobile suits on the ground. The Serpent opened fire first, followed by the Virgos and the Taurus. The new suit just dodged the slugs like they were nothing. It brought the sword in front of it as the suit swung itself so that it would land on its feet. Then, it opened up the throttle in the wings, slowing its descent so it wouldn't be a suicide landing, and tore at the Virgos with its sword. It managed to slice one Virgo from its shoulder to its waist, the doll then exploded. Duo finally managed to get a good look at this new suit. He saw what it was and gasped.   
  
"It's a-it's a-it's a Gundam!" Duo said.  
  
"Exactly Duo," Heero said from the Zero, while charging the Buster rifle and firing.  
  
The rest of the Virgos disappeared after the beam dissapated. It was just the Taurus, which was being mauled by the new Gundam, and the Serpent. The new Gundam finally slashed the Taurus into multiple pieces before the doll exploded. The Zero went after the Serpent, its beam saber ignited and glowing green.  
  
"Duo!" Tre's voice yelled through speakers. "Get in the Deathscythe!"  
  
Duo ran to the Neo Deathscythe Hell and jumped in the cockpit. He strapped himself in quickly, closed the cockpit door, and the Deathscythe rose from the ground. The black cape conformed to the movements of the suit like it was fabric. Deathscythe stood up and spread its wings. It then drew both scythes from its back, ignited the beam weapons, and twirled them around before crossing them in front of itself. DreadScythe sheathed the sword and ignited the arm blades. It held the weapons in preparation to strike. The Buster rifle on Zero was brimming at the barrels with the energy it longed to release at the Serpent.   
  
The Serpent, seeing as it was outnumbered and outmatched, pointed its Gatlings at the nearest building and was prepared to fire, until Deathscythe performed a flying tackle at the enemy machine and held the scythes above the cockpit door. Without warning, a bright flash went off from the Serpent's right arm. All the Gundam pilots were blinded by the light, and Duo felt the Deathscythe shift as the Serpent managed to escape. Shawn's voice was heard on the comm system in the Gundam cockpits.  
  
"Well, and I have managed to see a Gundam or three, and will live to tell about it."  
  
The three Gundams looked up to see the Serpent going full throttle toward the elevator.  
  
"Well," Tre said. "What a good day this has been so far."  
  
"Yeah? Speak for yourself," Duo pouted. "I didn't get to any pilots today."  
  
"Quit your whining," Heero said.  
  
"OK, let's get going fellas," Tre said.  
  
DreadScythe started walking toward the elevator, then raised its wings, and blasted off. Zero followed suit, and so did Deathscythe, whose wings were folded as if the Gundam were to dive from the sky. All three suits reached the elevator and flew to the outside. DreadScythe was speeding around the rim of the colony toward the shuttle hangar. The Gundam slowed itself and entered the hangar. It walked to its pod on the shuttle and got in. The Zero got into the pod below the pod DreadScythe was in, and the Deathscythe crawled into the pod below Zero's. All the pod doors closed around the mobile suits, and inside the aft cabin the three pilots met up. Then, they all walked to the flight deck to prepare for takeoff.   
  
Tre gained clearance and retracted the shuttle's gear as it rose off the floor. It then slowly thrusted backwards and turned around once clear of the hangar and the colony. Then, the motors fired up and the shuttle blasted off toward the L3 colony where Trowa's circus was. 


	10. Trowa Barton

Aloha, bienvenidos, guten tag, bonjour, and hello. Here is the Trowa encounter. We also find that two of the pilots we've followed so far are aabout to grow a close friendship with each other, NOT a sexual relationship. I will not put any yaoi content in here, all heterosexual, okay? I'm sorry to the gay community if they are offended, but this is my fic and I will decide what goes in it. Sorry :) Any who, I would really like to know what you think good pairings would be. I think I have it all figured out, but I want to hear from the fans first. So, read and review.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, which is rightful property of Surise, TV/Sotsu Agency and Asahi TV. Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me, but to Naoko Takeuchi. Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns are my property, so no use w/o my consent.  
  
Chapter 10 - Trowa Barton  
  
"Trowa," the circus manager yelled. "You're on in five minutes!"  
  
"OK," Trowa called back.   
  
He was all set to go, decked in his clown costume and all. Catherine stood by him as they peeked out into the crowd. It was a full house! Not a seat left!  
  
"Well, Trowa," Catherine started. "It seems everyone is coming to see your performance."  
  
"Not just me Cathy."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"You and the other acts are just as good, if not better."  
  
"You're so sweet, Trowa."  
  
"Ladies and gentleman," the manager began. "Boys and girls of all ages. I am proud to present our next act of daring and skill, the king of the beasts and the clown!"  
  
The crowd cheered and clapped their hands as the lion was brought out, then Trowa stepped into the light, waving. His long bangs covered most his face from view, but his dark green eyes shone with intensity. He had gotten quite muscular since Mariemeia Barton started the war Dekim wanted. Nonetheless, he was still strong.   
  
Trowa faced the lion, which was staring at Trowa from the opposite end of the ring. The lion raced at Trowa, roaring as it did. At the last possible moment, Trowa leapt into the air, flipped over and performed a 1440 twist, and landing one handed on the lion's back. Trowa continued to do a one handed hand stand while the lion ran around the ring. The crowd went nuts, clapping up a storm, whistles and cheers louder than a jet plane. Trowa slowly set himself onto the lion's back in a sitting position. He waved to the crowd, looking about.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Jesus," Tre groaned. "Why isn't there ANYONE in the fucking control room?"  
  
"Maybe they're boning some chick who happened to be in the room," Duo offered.  
  
"There's a circus performance tonight," Heero said. "Trowa is one of the main acts."  
  
"Figures," Tre huffed. "Our man is a damned clown."  
  
"A damned GOOD clown," Duo declared. He smiled at the scowling Tre.  
  
The shuttle has been sitting outside the colony for about half an hour waiting for docking clearance. Tre was angry that no one was in the control room to guide them in or more importantly, clear them. Tre was fed up, then said,  
  
"Fuck it, I'm getting my own clearance to dock."  
  
"Suit yourself," Heero said.   
  
He was beginning to really trust Tre. The two hadn't spoken in the presence of others, but each had a lot to say. Tre shared the tragedy of Lory to Heero. He had never opened up to anyone so freely about that topic. Heero told Tre about the little girl and her dog, how he had felt some compassion, guilt, and sorrow deep within but stuffed it down so it wouldn't interfere with his being the Perfect Soldier. Heero often slept in Tre's quarters, accompanying Tre even in their sleep (AN: Please read the notes at the top, if you haven't already. Heero and Tre are not gay, just close friends). The two were really on a good start of becoming good friends. They kept each others' secrets locked away with their own secrets.  
  
So, Tre thrusted his way into the docking hangar very carefully. He adjusted his thrust bursts to not be so powerful. Finally, he lowered the gear and touched down. Another smooth landing. Tre saw that this colony could have the hangar door locked and the cavernous room pressurized to sustain life and to allow large cargo craft entrance into the colony.  
  
Tre pulled his spacesuit on over his white long sleeve Jnco shirt and khaki Jnco shorts hanging below his knee. He locked his helmet on once his suit was fitted and climbed into the airlock. The chamber hissed of releasing air, then Tre opened the hatch. He slowly dropped down and walked to the hangar door control, throwing the switch. The large doors came upon each other and shut with a shuddering boom. Once the doors closed, the gravity kicked in. Tre activated the pressurization sequence and soon, the hangar was fit to breathe in. Tre took of the helmet and suit, then walked over to the shuttle hatch. He threw his gear into the hatch, then jumped and grasped the ledge. He pulled himself in and threw open the other door to the airlock, poking his head in.  
  
"Guess what?" Tre said.  
  
"What?" Duo asked.  
  
"We're gonna drive to Trowa's circus."  
  
"COOL!" Duo exclaimed.  
  
"Hn," Heero answered, his arms crossed.  
  
Tre unloaded the Rush Extreme from his shuttle's cargo bay and started the engine. He revved the roaring machine, excitement crossing his face. Duo and Heero climbed in after they opened the doors leading into the colony. Duo sat in the back, while Heero sat in the front passenger seat. All the seats were black leather and smelled great. The floor upholstery was leather, too. The dashboard gauges illuminated in powder blue numbers with white needles. The oil pressure was good, the engine temperature was just right, and the fuel tank was full.  
  
Tre buckled up, bring shoulder straps from behind him and lap belts over his waist into the buckle over his waistline. Heero and Duo did the same, seeing as their driver was a precautious one. Tre revved the engine some more, just for the sound of those pipes.  
  
"You guys ready?" Tre asked, adjusting his mirrors.  
  
"Ready," said Heero and Duo in unison.  
  
Tre punched the gas immediately and they sped into the colony. Once Tre heard the engine rev to a certain point, he equalled of the gas and onto the clutch, shifting into second gear, then equalling onto the accelerator again. The whole operation took no more than a split second. In about 45 seconds, Tre had shifted all the way up to sixth gear, and was going about 232 miles per hour. That all changed when Tre shifted into seventh gear, now going at 275 miles per hour. Everything flashed by the car in an instant, so there was no time to see things out the window. Duo was bored, so he started a conversation with Tre.  
  
"So Tre, how many rings do you have on your face?"  
  
"Seven," Tre said, shifting into eighth. "Two on my left eyebrow, two on my right earlobe, two more on my left earlobe, and one more near the top of my left ear."  
  
"Wow! Who did it for ya?"  
  
"Myself, I began them under Doctor X's supervision on my own."  
  
Duo let this sink in a little before he said, "Damn."  
  
"Yeah," Tre said.   
  
He shifted down into seventh, allowing the car to slow a little bit before Tre would stomp the brakes and do his famous parallel parking spin. The car slowed just enough, the Tre jumped on the brake and the clutch. The tires began to screech and the engine idled as Tre downshifted quickly. He then wrenched the wheel hard to the left, sending the car into a spin. Duo covered his head and brought his knees around his skull. Then, the screeching stopped, the car lurched right then left, and stopping. Tre turned the engine off, took out the key, and unbuckled. He opened his door and got out.  
  
"Well," he leaned in through the doorway. "You two coming or not?"  
  
"Yeah," Heero said, monotone.  
  
"Duo?" Tre said.  
  
"Sure," Duo said, lowering his legs and resting his arms.   
  
He undid his belts and got out from behind Tre's seat. Heero had slammed his door shut and was standing on the sidewalk, waiting. Tre pushed the seat back and shut his door. He pressed a button on the door and the car locked.   
  
Heero's yellow sneakers contacted the ground softly and unnoticeably. Duo's boots thudded against the cement pavement. And Tre's black skateboard shoes passed over the pavement without a sound. He was trained to be very quiet, and quiet he was. He motioned to the other two pilots over to the carts and cages off the edge of the big top. There next to the lion's cage, long brown bangs and all, was Trowa.  
  
He was wearing the usual outfit, blue long sleeve shirt, white slacks, and dusty black battalion boots. Trowa was thought to just be a quiet circus performer and nothing more. Well, some knew he was a former Gundam pilot, but that didn't stop him from enjoying his peaceful life traveling with the circus. He barely noticed the other pilots approaching him, until Duo yelled out,  
  
"Hey, Trowa!"  
  
"Huh? Duo! It's good to see you again," Trowa said.   
  
Heero and Tre had caught up with Duo, whom ran to Trowa instead of walking. Trowa then saw Tre and Heero standing idly by the cages while Trowa and Duo chatted for a little while. Well, Duo chatted, Trowa listened. Finally, Trowa walked to the other pilots.  
  
"Heero," Trowa said.  
  
"Trowa," Heero replied.  
  
"Trowa Barton, I presume?" Tre said.  
  
"Yeah," Trowa said. "That's me."  
  
"I'm Tre Young, the pilot of Gundam zero-six, the DreadScythe."  
  
"I heard about that new Gundam in the L1 colony. That must have been yours."  
  
"Yup," Tre said. "The reason these two are with me is because I'm recruiting all the former Gundam pilots to help in a fight against British forces."  
  
"This colony's mobile suit military has been preparing for a war with the British. Figured I might leave the circus to help since I have some experience."  
  
"But we need you in a Gundam."  
  
"Sorry," Trowa said. "I blew it up on Earth early last year."  
  
"That's why he has a rebuilt Heavyarms in a shuttle waiting for us," Heero jumped in.  
  
"Oh," was all Trowa said.  
  
"So, you going to come with old buddy?" Duo said, giving Trowa a slap on the back.  
  
"Yeah, count me in," Trowa said, smiling.  
  
"All right," Tre said, shaking Trowa's hand. "Let's get going then."  
  
"Let me pack my stuff," Trowa said as he walked to his trailer.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This time, he won't get away alive," Shawn seethed in the cockpit of his Serpent.   
  
He was waiting outside the colony elevator that a squadron of Virgos had ridden down into the colony. When he saw that the elevator had come back up, he flew the Serpent onto the platform and it started to lower the suit into the colony. Then, the suit got in the middle of the Virgos and headed toward the circus.  
  
"Now you will not live to tell this tale of your life, Tre Young," Shawn hissed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Off in the distance, Tre heard the rumble of approaching mobile suits. He ran into the trailer Trowa walked into and sought him out.  
  
"Trowa!" Tre called.  
  
"What?" Trowa answered.  
  
"There are approaching mobile suits. Heero, Duo, and I will go back and bring you Heavyarms so stay here, all right?"  
  
"OK," Trowa said.  
  
Trowa pulled an empty gun from his bag and stuck a fresh clip into the weapon. He squeezed the trigger and the slide went to its normal position with a loud click. Trowa then stuck it into his belt. He pulled the drawstring on his bag and got out of the trailer. He was on his way to the tent when he heard it. The faint thundering of nearing mobile suits. Trowa ran into the tent and found Catherine.  
  
"Trowa," she cried. "What's going on?"  
  
"Get into a safe hiding place, Cathy," Trowa yelled over the screams of fleeing circus-goers.   
  
Trowa ran out again. He cocked the hammer on his gun as he ran and ducked behind a truck.   
  
A Virgo was not ten yards from his position. Trowa could clearly see the camera behind the purple glass. Trowa took careful aim with his gun and fired one shot. The window shattered and the camera was set into a sparking wreck. The mobile doll just swiveled its head around, blinded, and stumbled. Trowa saw a white Serpent come up behind the disabled Virgo and the former pushed the latter onto the ground and shot it with the Gatlings on its left arm. The mobile doll was torn apart by the unceasing barrage. It finally exploded and was engulfed in bright orange flames. The Serpent looked this way and that, its camera glowing. Trowa took aim, ready to fire until he heard metal being cut into by an energy beam.  
  
Trowa saw a Gundam standing over a Virgo, its black-bladed energy scythe poised in an after stroke position. This Gundam looked almost human with its black dreads hanging down the sides of its head and its muscular looking torso. The legs looked as though they were clothed in baggy black pants, which were then black boots from the middle of the shin, down. It had the same wings as Wing Gundam did, Trowa noticed.   
  
'This must be DreadScythe,' Trowa thought.  
  
DreadScythe was flanked by Wing Zero and Deathscythe. Zero had its beam saber in its right hand, the shield and the Buster rifle in the left. Deathscythe had two twin-bladed scythes at the ready. Then, Deathscythe's cape opened and spread enormous wings, then folded them back just a little. DreadScythe lowered its wings, put the scythe on its back and pulled out the beam rifle on its right leg. It squeezed the trigger immediately and a spray of bullets flew at the remaining mobile dolls, the suits shuddering from the high-velocity rounds. They fell to the ground, smoking and with numerous holes in their bodies.   
  
There was three Virgos which managed to raise their shields in time. They stood unharmed. Then, DreadScythe holstered its weapon and motioned to the other Gundams. The Zero and the Deathscythe flew full blast at two of the remaining Virgos. The Zero slashed and stabbed the Virgo it fought, then kicked it to the ground, where it exploded. The Deathscythe circled with the Virgo, twirled the scythes over each other, arm over arm, then held them steady. The Virgo charged its gun, then without warning, the Deathscythe swung both scythes at the Virgo, one chopping off the head, the other slicing through the torso. The head clattered to the ground while fuel and oil spilled from the torso. The rest of the suit fell to the ground and leaked the fluids.   
  
There was one Virgo left. The DreadScythe pointed up and the mobile doll looked. Trowa looked, too. Above them was a large and bulky shuttle flying very low. It then released something from the bottom. It looked like a another mobile suit. Then DreadScythe flipped the mobile doll the bird and the falling mobile suit fell right on top of the Virgo. The flattened Virgo moved shakily under this fallen mobile suit. Trowa saw it was a new Heavyarms.  
  
Trowa stared in awe at the predominantly blue suit. Double Gatlings on each arm and blue boots that reached the middle of the shin, just like the other Gundam's boots. Trowa jumped onto the left leg in a single bound and started to walk across to the cockpit. Trowa propmtly climbed in, threw his bag in, strapped himself in, closed the door, and activated the suit. It rose to a standing position. It took its place next to the Zero, crouched slightly, and raised its arms. The four Gatling guns let loose an unmerciful barrage on the crippled Virgo, setting it into a ball of fire. Trowa then trained his sights on the Serpent and let loose again. The Serpent released all its missiles which impacted the bullets in mid-air, setting off a huge explosion. All five suits were knocked away from each other.  
  
Heavyarms blasted towards the Serpent in a flying tackle. The Serpent raised its Gatlings but too late. Heavyarms had pinned the Serpent to the ground and was removing its Gatlings. Heavyarms then ignited its blue arm blades and stabbed the camera of the Serpent, then its fuel cells. The suit exploded, sending Heavyarms toppling backwards.  
  
Duo's voice came over the comm system.  
  
"Trowa, you all right?"  
  
"Yeah, Duo," Trowa replied. "This new Heavyarms is amazing."  
  
"Thank Doctor X for redesigning it to be armored with Neo-Gundanium," Tre said.  
  
"Neo-Gundanium?" Trowa asked. "Is that a new metal?"  
  
"Yeah," Tre said. "Not only is it ten times stronger than Gundanium, it's also five times lighter and inpenetrable by an beam weapon."  
  
"Let me see," Heero said.   
  
He advanced the Zero on the DreadScythe and attempted to stab the DreadScythe. The Zero put all its might into this thrust, but the point just slid off the suit, leaving nothing on the DreadScythe.  
  
"Hn," Heero said. "You're right."  
  
"Told ya," Tre said.  
  
"Peace out, Gundam pilots," a British voice said over the comm.  
  
"No FUCKING WAY!" Tre yelled. "Trowa made your suit explode, no way you could have survived!"  
  
"Ah, but there is a thing called ejection seats, Tre Young," the voice said again.  
  
"Who are you?" Trowa demanded.  
  
"Shawn Chamberlin," said the voice. "High Wing Commander of the British forty-fifth Mobile Suit Division."  
  
"You fuck," Tre seethed.  
  
"Tah tah," Shawn said.   
  
"SHIT!" Tre yelled as he slammed his fist against the right viewscreen. "SON OF A GODDAMMED BITCH!!"  
  
The glass broke, spider-webbing from where Tre's hand impacted the screen. Blood seeped down the screen, leaving a crimson trail sourced at the center of the web. Tre pulled his hand from the broken screen and inspected his wound.   
  
It wasn't deep, but it bled like Hell. Tre reached behind his seat and groped for the first aid kit. His hand closed over it and he brought it into his lap.   
  
"Let's get back to the shuttle," Tre said, ripping some gauze with his teeth and free hand.   
  
He pressed the pedals that moved the Gundam's feet to walk back to the shuttle.  
  
"Tre," Duo's voice came over the comm. "You want me to bring your car back?"  
  
"Yeah, Duo," Tre said. "But be careful with her."  
  
"No problem," Duo said.   
  
Deathscythe picked the black car up very carefully as the remaining Gundams walked toward the hangar. DreadScythe blasted off first, then Zero, then Heavyarms. Deathscythe held the car carefully and blasted off as well.  
  
Trowa looked back at the circus, and sent a mental message he hoped his sister could hear.   
  
'Good bye, Catherine.'  
  
Please excuse the language use, but I really want to convey the drama in this story. However, maybe I should up the rating to NC-17. Just realize that Tre is very temprimental and easily angered. He does regain his cool, though, so the language will tone down a little bit.   
  
-Static Scythe 


	11. Quatre Raberba Winner

What's happenin' now? Look, this is the longest chapter so far so enjoy. I had a lot to say in this one, but it was mainly because I couldn't figure out what to write, y'know? Anyway, I was up late trying to do a good battle scene but I was tired so it kinda sucks. Just two more chapters then they meet with the Scouts (YEAH BABY!). Patience, my readers.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, for they belong to their rightful owners and not me. I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns so k no use without permission.  
  
Chapter 11 - Quatre Raberba Winner  
  
"No, Winston, I did not find my fucking ticket!" Nikki Young shouted into the phone.   
  
She was on the top floor of her family's business office building, trying to find out what went wrong with her reservation.  
  
She was supposed to be the spokesperson for her company at Winner Corp. HQ on Earth. She needed to catch the shuttle that takes her to Earth, but her butler lost her ticket. Her four-year-old daughter, Melissa Victoria Young, was to go with her since no one else would watch her.  
  
"Mommy!" Melissa tugged on her mother's skirt. "Uncle Tre is here!"  
  
"Hold on, Winston," the woman groaned. "What is it, Missy?"  
  
"I said, Uncle Tre is here!"  
  
"What?" Nikki shouted into the phone, ignoring her daughter.  
  
"Nikki," a male voice said from the opposite end of the room.  
  
Nikki looked over, and gasped. There leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his long, black attire, was her little brother, Tre. An excited look crossed her face and she shrieked into the phone,  
  
"Gotta go, Winston, never mind the ticket!"  
  
She hung up, and Tre uncrossed his arms. He slowly walked over to his sister, while she ran to him. They embraced, laughing. Nikki, although she was wearing high heels, was just up to Tre's eyes while they were hugging. Finally, they broke apart from each other and started rambling on.  
  
"So," Tre started. "How's the business holding up without the new Senior P in the house?"  
  
"Well, dad was a little upset when you had to leave for your mission, but you should be able to slide right into the business once you've completed whatever you're doing," Nikki said. "And besides, it's not like I can't handle two jobs at once."  
  
"Hmm, I see. Oh, you'll never guess who I saw while rounding up Duo."  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"That'd be me," said another male voice.  
  
A teenaged boy with a long chestnut braid stepped forward in a black minister's outfit and a large gold cross on a long gold chain. His Cobalt blue eyes shone happily as he flashed a grin.  
  
"Nikki, Duo Maxwell," Tre introduced, "Duo, my beautiful elder sister, Nikki Young and her daughter Missy."   
  
Tre picked his niece up as he said that last part and held her on his hip. She was a cute little girl with pale bluish-green eyes and brown hair just like her mother's. She was a wearing a little dress that almost matched the business suit Nikki donned. Where Missy had a black dress, white stockings and little black single strap shoes, Nikki wore a black knee-length skirt, shiny black high heels, a white button-up blouse, and a black blazer over that. Her daughter's hairstyle was the same as hers: a bun with long hair reaching down her back.   
  
"So what did you bring me back?" Missy asked.  
  
"Well, I did manage to swipe something from your poor excuse of a father," Tre said.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Nothing, kid," Tre laughed. "Here, it's a locket with your mom's picture in it."  
  
"Thank you," Missy said as Tre handed her the locket.   
  
It was a beautiful gold heart-shaped pendant attached to fine gold necklace. She toyed with it, then flipped the pendant open and looked to see her mom's photo. She smiled, then laughed. Nikki just shed tears and covered her mouth, holding in a sob. Tre took the necklace and put it over Missy's head.  
  
"Now you wear that and look at your mama's picture when you need it most," Tre said."OK," was the girl's reply.   
  
He set her down and let her scamper about the office. Nikki just looked on her daughter as she looked at the locket again.   
  
"My God," Nikki sighed. "I didn't know he still cared."  
  
"He doesn't," Tre said. "He is to wed the princess of our enemy and he was about to sell the locket just to get rid of it before he's caught by his betrothed bitch."  
  
"You saw him?"  
  
"Yeah, at a bar in another L2 colony," Tre replied. "They were hunting Duo."  
  
"It didn't do them much good," a flat voice said. Heero glared at Nikki while Trowa leaned against the wall in solitude. Heero walked forward and stood in the little group. His eyes were cold and hard.  
  
"They were easily destroyed by Wing Zero and DreadScythe," Heero continued.  
  
"Nikki, Heero Yuy. Heero, Nikki, my sister," Tre said.  
  
"Hn," was Heero's reply.  
  
"Well, what were you saying, Heero?" Nikki asked.  
  
"The British would have killed Duo if not for your brother," Heero said. "He found out who Shawn was at the bar and held him at gunpoint. The rest of the mobile pilots were killed single-handedly by Tre in a gunfight, but Shawn escaped."  
  
"Damn!" Nikki yelled.   
  
"I know," Tre said. "I would have loved to kill that traitor."  
  
"Well, there's always next time," Nikki sighed. "Hey, Tre, you wouldn't happen to have a shuttle would you?"  
  
"Yes," Tre said, "yes I do."  
  
"Great!" Nikki excalimed. "I need to get to Winner Corp. HQ and the shuttle has left for Earth already."  
  
"Wait a second," Tre said. "That shuttle is for business people of the colony only so who's on it?"  
  
"The Vitelli's," Nikki answered. "They want to persuade Winner Corp. that they are the only business that can be trusted to merge with to shut us and the Reigns' down."  
  
"Sweet!" Tre said. "Then we could blow right past them, sign the deal, and get Quatre to come fight with us Gundam pilots."  
  
"So that's your mission," Nikki nodded. "You're collecting the Gundam pilots to fight the Brits, huh?"  
  
"Pack your stuff sis, we gettin' the Hell out of here!" Tre said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Systems are green and working perfectly," Heero said to Tre.   
  
The flight deck was full of people in spacesuits. Heero, Duo, and Trowa were wearing the suits they used to invade Libra two years ago on Christmas Day. Tre was wearing his own, and Nikki was wearing a feminine variant. The suit was purple and conformed to Nikki's curves precisely. Lastly, little Missy had a suit in the same color as her mom's, but it was made for a child. Everyone had their helmets on, but the visors were open.   
  
The shuttle was set to go. Tre was opening the throttle wide. It was taking every ounce of strength out of the brakes to hold the heavy craft until they were ready to launch. The catapult came slowly behind the nose gear and caught the hook. It stood idle for a while, then the catapult shot the shuttle forward. The G forces were intense, reading at 3.5 G's. Then, the catapult stopped, sling-shotting the shuttle into space. Tre raised the gear and did a roll. The shuttle was now upside-down and speeding through space.  
  
"Just another hour before we catch up to the business shuttle, everyone," Tre shouted.  
  
"When we get to it," Nikki shouted back, "give 'em Hell on the radio."  
  
"Right, Nikki."  
  
"OK, Tre."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Once we merge with Winner Corp.," a muffled voice was saying, "the Youngs will go into a slump that they'll never come out of."  
  
"Yes, Don Vitelli," a young man said. The shuttle was dark so everyone could sleep. Just then, the loudspeakers snapped on.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," the captain said. "We are receiving a weird transmission, would you like to hear it?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," the godfather said.  
  
"OK, here it goes," the captain said.  
  
There was some static, then a female voice came on the speakers.  
  
"Hello, Antonio Vitelli, it's Nikki Young," Nikki's voice said. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm goign to get to Earth, sign the deal, and be vacationing before you even enter the atmosphere."  
  
"Oh yeah?" the godfather shot back. "How do you plan on doing that when you're on your colony?"  
  
"Look out your port window."  
  
The godfather leaned over his nephew and saw a bright glow from behind and below the shuttle he was in. All the sudden, a large shuttle with bulky pods surrounding it streaked past the small craft he was in.  
  
"It will yake you another two days for you to reach Earth, while we'll reach it in four hours. Tah tah."  
  
The godfather yelled out in scorn, waking his whole family. He then collapsed of a heart attack, unconscious.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"OK, everyone," Tre said. "We are about to make planet fall, so close your visors."  
  
All the pilots closed their visors, while Nikki closed hers, then Missy's visor. Then, like any normal mother, Nikki made sure that Missy's straps were nice and tight.  
  
Tre increased the throttle of the main engines, heading nose first into the atmosphere. A loud bang told them they broke into the outer atmosphere, then a white glow lashed at the windows. It turned crimson, then bright orange. The shuttle began to shudder very violently, banking slightly as air began to pass under the control surfaces of the shuttle. Tre grasped the control stick, trying to regain control of the mammoth craft. It started to roll uncontrollably, the shuttle was tossing everywhere. Tre managed to control the movement of the flaperons as they passed through the atmosphere. Finally, the twin sonic booms signified that they had entered the atmosphere, but they were still going too fast. Tre cut the main engines off, putting the shuttle into gliding flight.  
  
"Arabian Space Port, shuttle Nightshift, declaring an emergency," Tre called into the mic in his suit.  
  
He was pulling tight S-turns to slow the shuttle down. He lined himself up with the runway, which was still 20 miles away.  
  
"Nightshift, Arabian approach," an Arabic accent was thick in his English. "Copy emergency, you are cleared all the way in."  
  
"Thanks!" Tre yelled, straining against the speed of the craft.  
  
Tre extended speed brakes, throwing everyone against their straps as the shuttle slowed drastically. Tre retracted the brakes, then armed the gear. He was 10 miles out from the runway and lined up perfectly. He followed the flashing beacons as he came closer to the runway. He was two miles out, then he dropped the gear and flared, using the shuttle's surface area to slow down more. The craft slowly descended, and jolted as main gears touched down. Tre held the nose up and deployed the drogue chute, which pulled the main chute out to slow the shuttle down for a stop. Tre pulled as hard as he could against the stick to keep the nose up for as long as possible. The air speed dropped, so did the nose. That's when Tre jumped on the rudder pedals. The rudders opened on both sides of the tailfin and the brakes on the wheels squealed as the shuttle continued its forward momentum. Then, it stopped completely.   
  
Tre turned in his seat and stared at his passengers. Nikki was breathing heavily, as was little Missy. Heero sat stolid in his seat, as did Trowa and Duo. Tre heard the tower command them to taxi clear of the runway. Tre brought the main engines online again and the shuttle started to roll forward slowly onto the taxiway.   
  
After ten minutes of taxiing, Tre stopped the shuttle inside a large hangar. The control tower came on again.  
  
"Nightshift, tower. What business do you bring to our country?"  
  
"We are here to discuss a business merger with Quatre Raberba Winner," Tre said. "He is the head of Winner Corp. and we need to make this deal today."  
  
"I see," the controller said. "Well, it seems you are well known because that hangar is owned by Quatre Winner."  
  
"Which is why you directed us here?" Tre asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Okay, then, Quatre must have known we were coming, huh, Nikki?"  
  
Nikki laughed nervously into her helmet mic and started blubbering, fumbling for words. Tre just told her, playfully, to shut up and of which she did. The pilots were chuckling, even Heero. Tre finally got to the shuttle pulled into the hangar and set the parking brakes. He then got out of his seat and walked to the hatch and opened it. There was a ground crew wheeling a staircase to the opened hatch and a black limo pulled in from behind the shuttle. Tre was pulling his helmet and his spacesuit off. Everyone else was doing the same, but sitting down in the seats they had taken.  
  
Tre walked down the stairs and trotted over to the limo as the back door was being opened. Out stepped a short, blonde teen with a pink business shirt, khaki slacks, brown dress shoes, and a purple vest. Tre stopped and shook hands with this teen.  
  
"Quatre Raberba Winner," Tre said, shaking Quatre's hand.  
  
"Tre Jason Young," Quatre said back, smiling. "It has been a year since last we met."  
  
"Indeed," Tre said, letting go of the other's hand. "Nikki, my sister is the spokesperson for my company today, not me. I'm here on a different level of business with you. I'll discuss it with you later."  
  
"Understood."  
  
Nikki was walking as fast she could, smoothing out her black skirt and blazer. Her high heels hitting the smooth concrete resounded throughout the entire hangar. Missy was in close tow. Nikki smiled as she approached Quatre, holding onto her daughter's hand. She stopped right in front of Quatre, extended her free hand to shake his. Instead, Quatre took her hand and kissed the back of it. Nikki blushed.  
  
"My how beautiful you've grown over the years Miss Young," Quatre said.  
  
"Nikki, please call me Nikki, Mr. Winner," Nikki laughed.  
  
"Then please call me Quatre," Quatre returned with a laugh of his own.  
  
"Shall we discuss this merger here or in a more proper setting?"  
  
"Yes, let's go to my office conference room where several other candidates are already gathered."  
  
"This is the year of a double merger, huh, Quatre?" Tre asked.  
  
Tre meant that this is the year that Winner Corp. would merge with two other companies, instead of just one. This would raise the annual net worth to more than triple the normal worth of just one company alone. Quatre wasn't in it for the money, but for the good of the people that invested in his company or went after products he designed.  
  
"Yes, Tre," Quatre said. "It is my hope that my company will accept yours and possibly the Reigns' companies."  
  
"Why the two of us?" Nikki asked.  
  
"Because of both your persistent persuasive and strategic techniques in the market," Quatre answered.  
  
"I see," Tre said, nodding.  
  
Heero, Duo, and Trowa were all standing in an isolated group. They knew nothing about this business merger or business meeting. They just stood by the left main gear talking about Tre.  
  
"He seems cool to me," Duo said, putting his hands behind his head.  
  
"A very good example of a leader," Trowa agreed. "His status in his company and in his Gundam tell me that he has influence as a leader."  
  
"He is just that," Heero piped. "Ever since the loss of his girlfriend in After Colony one-nine-four, he has devoted his time to his business and nothing else, until his mission to find us all came about."  
  
Duo and Trowa just stared at their fellow pilot. Never had he spoken so many words in a sentence in their presence before. Yet he still leaned against the gear with his arms crossed and eyes closed as if he hadn't spoken at all. Duo screwed up his face in thought, scratching his head.   
  
'So that's the Ghost Murder of After Colony one-nine-four,' he thought. 'Well, now it's no wonder Tre is so much like Heero most of the time. But, he does enjoy life like I do at times.'  
  
"Heero, Duo, Trowa," Quatre called, trotting to where they stood. "It's so good to see all of you again."  
  
Quatre went around shaking hands with all the pilots. There wasn't much Heero or Trowa said, but Duo and Quatre blabbed on about what they did after they detonated their suits as far as business and relationships were going.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that Hilde is my girlfriend," Duo said, "but she is nice to have around. I can't cook, so she whips up great meals sometimes."  
  
"Do you think you might have a slight interest in her?" Quatre asked.  
  
"I don't know," Duo said.  
  
"Hmm, let's continue this conversation some other time. We have to get to my office as soon as possible."  
  
So, everyone piled into the limo, Quatre last (he insisted). The chauffer closed the door behind his employer and got in the driver's seat. Then the black car drove off.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The elevator had reached the top floor of Quatre's company HQ. Everyone piled out, Quatre in the lead. He was tailed closely by Nikki, who was ready to get into this meeting. Tre was holding onto Missy's hand so that he could watch her while Nikki got their business merged with Quatre's. Quatre opened the double doors to a large wood-paneled conference room. A large rectangular table sat in the center of the room and was surrounded by twenty men of various ages. Most had gray hair and glasses from being advanced in age, but some were young and in their prime. An empty seat at the far end of the right side stood ready for Nikki while a chair at the opposite end of the table stood ready for Quatre.  
  
Tre took Quatre's attention for a minute to whisper, "Quatre, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you planned to have my sister sit there, because you have a crush on her."  
  
Quatre muffled a laugh and entered the room. Tre followed and spotted a familiar face at the table.  
  
"Mr. Reigns!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Tre," Mr. Reigns replied.  
  
The man was the father of Tre's best friend, Pyrone. If there were any coincidence to Pyrone's voice, it would be that his father had the same voice and look of Sean Connery himself. This past middle-aged man, by the name of Theodore William Reigns (nickname Theo), had a head of gray hair and a dark gray beard about his face. His brown eyes were soft and vigorous with the youth of a teenager. His clothes that he donned, a black business suit: black socks, slacks, shoes, button-up shirt, and blazer.   
  
"Good luck to you, sir," Tre said.  
  
"Thank you, and good luck to your company, too," Theo said.  
  
Nikki took her seat, while Tre and Missy, Heero, Duo, and Trowa all left the large room, or began to anyway.  
  
"Tre, wait!" Quatre called.  
  
"Huh?" Tre said.  
  
"We need you in here for just a minute."  
  
"Who's going to watch Missy?"  
  
"I will," Trowa spoke. "I'm great with kids."  
  
"It's OK, Uncle Tre," Missy said, with a tone beyond her years. "I'll play with Trowa."  
  
"All right then, munchkin," Tre said, smiling.  
  
Trowa took her outstretched hand and lead her out of the large room. Heero and Duo were already outside, occupying part of a bench. The doors closed behind them, then the meeting started.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-One hour later-  
  
"I still don't get how we can't qualify, Mr. Winner," a young, bespectacled man by the name of Jack Ritter spoke.  
  
"Because your company has a terrible marketing and customer satisfaction record," Quatre snapped. "It is your constant problem to meet someone else's schedule that you rush through your projects. My company should merge with a company that is willing to sacrifice schedules for quality products."  
  
As Quatre sat down, Jack was about to continue when Nikki started on him with an intensity a man in business would be jealous of.  
  
"You sir, are too busy being a brown-nosing kiss-up to your contractors that you don't look at the big picture and see what the customer wants. The first rule in business is that the customer is always right. You do not seem to realize that since you are too busy trying to please your goddam employers and contractors. Yes, it's nice to be on schedule, but sometimes you have to delay that for quality. If you start to build a shuttle and your contractors say, 'I want it done in three months', and all you have so far is a framework, then are you going to rush that production phase to do a sloppy job and risk innocent lives?"  
  
"Well, we try our best to do a quality job in as short a time as possible-" Jack was cut off by Tre.  
  
"Forget your best. Losers all wind up doing their best while winners break out the champagne and pat themselves on the back for doing such excellent job. Why the Hell do you think that Young Corp. was picked first for this merger? Because we bust our asses off to make sure that every inch of our products are sealed, connected, working, etcetera. We don't do our best in as little time as possible. We bust our chops doing a thorough and complete job."  
  
As Tre sat in the chair next to Nikki and Quatre, a round of applause came from everyone but Jack. Things like, "What an excellent business attitude!" and "I'd love to work for those two!" were heard being mumbled to others around the table. After the applause ended, Theo Reigns stood up and started to walk around the room.  
  
"Twenty years ago, it was three years after the great Heero Yuy was assassinated and people were in a panic. I thought to myself, 'How can I help the people overcome their panic?' It was to represent them in an effort to bring peace to the colonies again. However, I was not strong enough nor influential enough to persuade the OZ organization to disarm themselves and let peace come to the colonies.   
  
"So I took my expertise in government affairs to the computer and designed the initial cockpit system for the Tallgeese and Wing Zero projects. However, since OZ was after the Gundam scientists, I decided that I should displace myself from them in an effort to save my own ass. Which is why I designed the targeting system for OZ's mobile suits: Leo, Aries, Pisces, Cancer, and for the later Taurus and Virgo models. But I didn't just design those systems for mobile suits, it was also intended for shuttles and for space fighters."  
  
"The Space Wasp," Tre said. "That my father and yourself invented."  
  
"Exactly," Theo said, pointing at Tre. "Lights, please."  
  
The lights dimmed all the way down and a white screen rolled down from behind Quatre. Everyone turned their seats to face the screen. A picture of a FX-1682 popped onto the screen. Then Jack Ritter said,  
  
"Since when is a Neo Falcon a space fighter?"  
  
"Since a week ago when the first Space Wasp took a maiden voyage and the tests were off the predicted charts," Theo said. "This revolutionary design will knock the socks off the mobile suit divisions of the British kingdom."  
  
"Since you are part British, don't you think of yourself as a hypocrite or even a traitor to your nation of birth?" Jack Ritter smiled.  
  
Theo breathed a deep breath, "No, I do not consider myself a hypocrite or a traitor to my nation of brith! How dare you tell me to choose sides of this war when I am a neutral businessman!"  
  
Tre pulled a pistol out of its holster, cocked the hammer and pointed it at Jack Ritter.  
  
"One more interruption like that and I'll spray your brains all over the place," Tre said coldly.  
  
"Is that how you gained so much power," Jack said, "through threats?"  
  
"Please, we don't need any bloodshed here," Quatre said.  
  
Tre continued to glare at Jack while he released the hammer to its normal position and holstered the weapon. Jack was wiping his forehead with his handkerchief, obviously shaken from what had just taken place. Theo continued his presentation.  
  
"As you can see, this is the body of an FX-1682 Neo Fighting Falcon. However, this is a redesigned and retro-fitted prototype capable of combat in space. There is no air scoop, since there is no oxygen in space to use for combustion. It is fitted with an ED-dash-fifty six forty three-dash-mark-twenty rocket motor. The wings are fitted with numerous missile rails and each side of the craft, just behind the cockpit, are two Eagle Eye laser weapons. These weapons," Theo said, pulling up a different screenshot, "are able to fire at the rate of a Gatling gun with shotgun dispersion."  
  
"Would you mind clarifying that part?" one man asked.  
  
"Certainly," Theo said, smiling. "These weapons fire at a rate of one-hundred rounds per second and if the fighter were sitting in the same place while firing these weapons, then their rounds would be dispersed as though it were a shotgun."  
  
"Ah, I see," the man said.  
  
"How much would it cost for one of these fighters?" another man asked.  
  
"It would come to a sum of forty-one-billion dollars," Theo said.  
  
Murmurs of excitement were heard about the room. "This is the future of low-cost defense against invading mobile suit forces, ladies and gentlemen," Theo said.  
  
"Mr. Theodore Reigns," Quatre said, standing up, "welcome aboard Winner Corp."  
  
Applause sounded in the room as Theo shook hands with Quatre. Then, Theo and Tre shook hands and exchanged brief comments to each other about the future development of the three merged companies.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Let's do it now," Shawn said to his mobile suit force.  
  
The white Serpent moved ahead of its squadron as they advanced on the village where the Magunac Corp. has been rumored to live in. All the sudden, a barrage of fire came from the village sending several British suits toppling over themselves and exploding. The lead Serpent ducked and returned fire.  
  
On the other side, the Magunacs were fighting to defend the village. It was the last stronghold between the Brits and their Master Quatre.  
  
"Captain," a Magunac pilot shouted.  
  
"What?" Rashid shouted back from his suit.  
  
"We should inform Master Quatre to flee the city if need be."  
  
"That is not an option, we wouldn't want him to worry about us."  
  
A Magunac was hit in the leg and crumpled in the trench.  
  
"Sahib!" Rashid shouted. "Akbar, call Master Quatre immediately."  
  
"Yes sir," the pilot answered.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What?" Quatre was alarmed. "The Magunacs are fighting against the British?"  
  
"Quatre!" Tre shouted. "You know that business I was talking about earlier?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"The time has come," Tre said as he trotted to Quatre. "You need to pilot Sandrock."  
  
"I detonated Sandrock on Earth last year," Quatre whispered.  
  
"There's a new one in the shuttle I flew in."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Let's get the other pilots and make tracks to that village."  
  
"Right."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The shuttle sat at the end of the runway, ready for launch.  
  
"Nightshift, you are clear for departure," ATC said.  
  
"Roger, control," Tre said.  
  
He slammed the throttle all the way open, the shuttle was shuddering. Then Tre released the brakes and the shuttle leapt forward. Heero was in the co-pilot's seat, while Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were getting ready in their Gundams for an airdrop. Tre pulled hard back on the stick and raised the gear. He banked hard to port and yanked again on the stick. He turned the shuttle sharply, then leveled it out again. He kept the throttle where it was and estimated that they would reach the battle zone in ten minutes.  
  
Tre entered a series of commands into the shuttle's autopilot computer. Then, he undid his straps and ran back into the aft cabin. Heero did the same, streaking after Tre. Tre clambered into the door marked 06, while Heero slid into door marked 00. The two pilots just got into their Gundams when the shuttle rolled to the starboard side. The doors on pods 06 to 04 opened ready to drop their contents into the battle below.  
  
"Roll check!" Tre shouted into his mic. "Zero!  
  
"Ready!" Heero shouted back.  
  
"Deathscythe!" Tre shouted.  
  
"Ready!" Duo replied.  
  
"Heavyarms!"  
  
"Ready!" Trowa said.  
  
"Sandrock!"   
  
"Ready!" Quatre yelled as he lowered his goggles over his eyes.  
  
"Nightshift, release!" Tre yelled into his mic.  
  
Then, all five Gundams were falling through the air. DreadScythe drew its beam rifle and fired a barrage onto the British suit squadron directly below. Three suits went down. Zero loaded its Buster rifle, then fired. It managed to take out only two suits. Deathscythe tried its machine guns, but they wouldn't fire. Heavyarms fired its chest Gatlings, missing. Finally, all five suits fired their rockets, slowing their descent and landing softly on the desert sands.  
  
Sandrock's heat sickles burned red on the blades, then Sandrock reached behind itself, drew the blades and flung them at the rest of the suits. Two were sliced into melting halves, which exploded. The large blades spun like boomerrangs and came back to Sandrock, which caught both by the handles. Sandrock stared down the remaining six suits, lowering itself into a slight crouch. The white Serpent rounded on Sandrock, taking aim with its Gatlings. Heavyarms raised its arms and fired at the enemy suit. The Serpent managed to fall back from the attack, but not its escort suits. The Virgos exploded on either side. Then a silouhette of a walking Gundam, with its sickles held at the ready appeared on Shawn's viewscreen, the green eyes glaring down the Serpent it planned to tear apart. Sandrock crossed the two blades in front of itself, raised them on either side and swung down. The tips of the blades scratched at the Serpents surface, leaving a large X on its torso. Shawn couldn't believe it, he was almost destroyed.  
  
"Crap, he moved away from me," Quatre said.  
  
"Need help yet?" Tre said.  
  
The DreadScythe pulled the staff off its back, twirled it in its right hand, then caught the bottom half with the left hand when the right hand slid up the staff. The energy blade ignited: a black scythe.  
  
"No, Tre," Quatre said. "This one's mine."  
  
"Oh jolly good," Shawn's sarcasm was thick in his voice.  
  
"Serpent, surrender to us now or die," Quatre said.  
  
The Serpent fired its missiles at Sandrock. Sandrock fired its rockets, flying backwards for a distance to avoid the missiles. DreadScythe caught the left arm of Sandrock and planted its feet on the ground.  
  
"C'mon," Tre said. "You gonna let this guy scare ya?"  
  
"No, let me at 'em!" Quatre cried.  
  
Sandrock flew forward and sliced at the Serpent. The enemy suit ducked, sending the Sandrock flying over it. Sandrock flipped and twisted in mid-air, landing on its feet and facing the Serpent. The Gundam flung the blades at the Serpent, hoping to catch it this time. A Taurus suit fired at the blades, sending them off their trajectory. DreadScythe flew forward, scythe poised at the ready. The Gundam sliced at the doll, sending it into a ball of fire. DreadScythe walked forward, scythe in one hand, beam rifle in the other. The Serpent looked at Sandrock, the latter had its machine guns at the ready.   
  
"Cherrio, old chaps!" Shawn's voice came over the radio, then the Serpent detonated. Tre caught a rocket trail coming from the suit, meaning Shawn had ejected.  
  
"That little pussy," Tre muttered.  
  
"What the Hell is wrong with Deathscythe?" Duo yelled over the radio. "It wouldn't do a damn thing I wanted it to."  
  
"The suit is probably frozen up or something," Tre said. "I'll take a look at it on the shuttle."  
  
"We're leaving now?" Quatre asked.  
  
"We have to find Wufei, and soon," Tre said.  
  
DreadScythe looked to the sky, still hanging thick with smoke from the burning machines.  
  
"There are still four suits left!" Trowa yelled.  
  
Heavyarms wheeled around, firing at the nearest suit. It shook violently from high impact slugs hitting it, then it fell over.   
  
"All right! I fixed it!" Duo exclaimed.  
  
Deathscythe drew and ignited the twin scythes, launching itself at another suit. The Leo cowered before it was sliced up like a turkey. All in the blink of an eye, the Deathscythe slashed at the Leo vertically, horizontally, and diagonally using both scythes. Before the Leo exploded, the Deathscythe was crouched in a pose with a scythe in each hand. Then the Leo exploded against the Deathscythe's back, the green eyes glaring from the black silouhette.   
  
Zero ignited a beam saber and quickly jabbed the Virgo it had tackled. The suit crackled with electricity around the stabbed area. Zero withdrew the saber from the crippled suit, which promptly blew up.   
  
Sandrock and DreadScythe worked on the last suit. The Taurus was outmatched and outnumbered, so it just threw its gun down and put its hands up. DreadScythe swung its scythe at the waist, slicing the doll in half, then let the scythe swing its way onto DreadScythe's left shoulder. Sandrock took its sickles and raised them on either side, then swung them down across the suit. The torso of the Taurus fell into four pieces then the legs fell on top of the pile.  
  
Then, all five suits gathered in the center of the wreckage they had created, staring at each other. Tre opened his cockpit door first and walked out, followed by Quatre. Soon all the pilots were standing on their open cockpit doors. The partial Gundam team looked at each other, then Quatre spoke.  
  
"We have a lot more than this to deal with in the coming war. But it isn't our only enemy. The biggest of all is ourselves and the bloodthirsty demons who crave carnage and bloodshed. We must control ourselves as we fight and not destroy lives for a primal urge."  
  
"Quatre," Heero said softly. "We can't just let these pilots walk away unscathed."  
  
"Yes, I know that, Heero," Quatre said. "But we can make an effort to at least keep some of them alive."  
  
"It isn't them that's figthing this war," Tre jumped in. "It's the royalty of Britain and the buisness world."  
  
"How true," Trowa said.  
  
"We must quell this storm before it gets any stronger, guys," Tre said. "Let's find Wufei."  
  
"I'm with you, Tre," Duo said.  
  
The pilots got back in their Gundams as Nightshift flew overhead. Then all five suits blasted off to catch their transport. Next stop: Wufei. 


	12. Wufei Chang

Hey everyone! Wufei Chang or Chang Wufei, however you prefer, but this is his chapter. I kinda had a sucky action sequence again, but it works for the time being. Besides, I'm itchin' to write a chapter with the Scouts in it and I know all of you are dying to see who gets paired with who and becomes of their love as they battle for.......I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, read and review. Also, tell me what your thoughts are on who should be paired with who.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns so no use without permission.  
  
Chapter 12 - Wufei Chang  
  
"The next medal I will present is the Preventer's Medal of Honor," Miss Une declared to the microphone on the podium.   
  
There was a large crowd of people in the auditorium to witness Preventers receiving medals for their distinguished service to putting an end to any war before it flared up.  
  
"The recipient is Chang Wufei."  
  
Wufei stood up as the crowd applauded and walked to where Miss Une stood behind the podium. He stopped right in front of her so that she could slip the medal around his neck. Wufei shook her hand and sat down next to Sally Po.  
  
"It's an injustice," Wufei fumed. "Receiving a medal from an onna."  
  
"Wufei," Sally soothed. "I know that you hold your morals different from other people but please try to be nice today."  
  
"Fine," Wufei grumbled.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, we're going to round up Wu-man," Duo said.   
  
He slurped on his soda as the shuttle rockted through the atmosphere. Tre was working on Deathscythe, fixing whatever it was that went wrong on Earth. Duo didn't complain since Tre knew what he was doing, and besides, who would pass up an offer from one pilot to fix another's Gundam? Tre finally came into the flight deck and walked to the pilots' seat. He set himself down and strapped in.  
  
"Duo," Quatre scolded. "Behave yourself, because you know how Wufei is around you."  
  
"Don't worry, Quatre," Duo winked. "Wu-man and I are like two peas in a pod, we get along swell!"  
  
"Sure," Tre scoffed.  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Duo asked.  
  
"If you cross Wufei, you'll find yourself at the end of his katana," Tre said.  
  
"Well, I forgot about that part," Duo said.  
  
"Hn," was all Heero had to say.  
  
"We should reach Brussels pretty soon," Trowa announced, "so everyone strap yourselves in and hang on."  
  
Heero snapped the belts around himself and buckled in. Duo was already strapped in, as was Trowa. Quatre flung the straps about himself and snapped them into the buckle. Tre hailed the Brussels tower.  
  
"Nightshift, inbound for landing."  
  
"Nightshift, Brussels Tower," a female voice called back. "You are first in line for landing. Maintain air speed and altitude then come in at your discretion."  
  
"Roger," Tre said.  
  
The large shuttle banked as Tre pushed the stick right. He armed the gear and cut his throttle. They were lined up with the runway and two miles out. Tre dropped the gear and slowly descended. He yanked back hard on the stick, the main gear touched down. Tre kept the nose up to slow down, then it dropped on its own. He deployed speed brakes and stomped on the wheel brakes. The shuttle began to slow, then Tre let off the wheel brakes and retracted the speed brakes. The shuttle slowly rolled toward the taxiway.  
  
"Tower, would you mind if I parked near the Preventers's landers?" Tre asked.  
  
"No, not at all Nightshift," tower responded.  
  
"Good," Tre said.  
  
"Tre, don't you think the Preventers will be mad that you parked here?" Quatre asked.  
  
"Nah," Tre said.  
  
He stopped the shuttle near a lander that was fueling up. The shuttle's motors whirred then stopped as the engines were cut. The Gundam pilots released their straps and stood up to exit their craft. Tre opened the door and lifted a panel that was on the follor in front of the door. He pulled out a rolled up rope ladder and dropped it out the hatch so it unravelled and hung out the open door. Tre climbed down it first, then Quatre, then Heero, next was Trowa, and finally Duo. Tre pulled a small control unit out of his shorts pocket and pressed a silver button. The inner hatch of the airlock closed, leaving the outer door open.  
  
"Let's go!" Tre said, walking underneath the shuttle. "Heero, can you drive an eight-speed stick?"  
  
"Yeah," Heero replied.  
  
"Good, 'cause your driving the others to the Preventers HQ while I drive my jetbike."  
  
"Hey," Duo complained. "How come Heero gets to drive and I don't?"  
  
"Because you would strip the gears, Maxwell," Tre smiled.  
  
He pushed a sequence on a keypad and a ramp lowered in front of Heavyarms's pod. The car was safely lowered down the ramp as was the jetbike. Tre undid the straps holding both vehicles and handed the keys to Heero. Heero opened the driver side door, allowing Duo to get in behind the driver seat. Quatre climbed in behind the front passenger seat, next to Duo. Trowa lowered the seat once Quatre was in and sat down. Heero lowered his seat as well and climbed in. All the doors were shut, then Heero started the engine, revved it, then peeled out.  
  
"Tre is gonna get you," Tre mused, placing the black helmet over his head, then slipping full hand black gloves on his hands.  
  
He swung one leg over the hovering bike, flipped a few switches, then kick-started the jet engine. It fired a flame ten feet long from its exhaust nozzle, the nozzle flaps wide. Then Tre released the throttle, the flame gone, the nozzle flaps contracting again. Then Tre ripped after the car, the shuttle's ramp closing.  
  
A blue flame was showing in the middle of the nozzle flaps, the turbines up front spinning like crazy. The jetbike was approaching 230 miles per hour and was coming alongside the car. Tre knocked on the driver side window and waved. He then swiveled the throttle all the way back, leaving the car far behind as it sped away. Heero smirked, then shifted to fifth gear from sixth, revving the engine up, then slamming the stick into seventh. The car leapt forward, speed up to 300 miles per hour. Heero shifted into eighth, getting the car at its top speed, then surpassing it. The car easily caught up to the hovering jetbike. Tre looked back, then at his speedometer: 350 miles per hour! The car was going faster than it's top speed. That's when Heero noticed the temperature gauge on the dashboard was rising. Heero jumped on the brake and clutch, downshifting as the car slowed. When he stopped, Tre turned around and sped back to the car. He stopped at the driver's side. Heero rolled the window down.  
  
"What's up?" Tre asked.  
  
"The engine is about to overheat," Heero replied.  
  
"I see," Tre said. "Maybe I'll have to take a look at my radiator when I get back; with NOS, you probably woulda blown by me."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Don't worry, we're almost out the space port and near the Preventers HQ."  
  
"It was a good race."  
  
"Damn straight," Tre said, slapping Heero high five.  
  
"It's about cool enough to get going again," Heero said, looking at the gauge.  
  
"So let's rip."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The two vehicles sped through the space port gate and on to Preventers HQ.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-At the Preventers HQ-  
  
"Well," Tre said, removing his helmet. "Looks like a party is hoppin' in dis joint."  
  
"Shall we introduce ourselves to some treats?" Duo asked eagerly.  
  
"Yeah, sure," Tre said. "Come on, y'all. Let's go up there."  
  
They all piled onto an elevator and rode it up to the top floor. The double doors on the car opened and they stepped out, five abreast. Tre still had his helmet in his hand, swinging it by his gray knee-length shorts. Heero, who was next to Tre, just glared like always, Duo on Heero's other side was just walking. Trowa and Quatre were staring at the paintings as they passed through the halls. Tre stopped at a door and opened it. Soft piano music and the chatter of many humans flowed from the room as the five boys entered. People everywhere were holding champagne glasses filled with the golden, bubbly liquid. A server walked by a with a tray of champagne balanced on his right hand. Tre grabbed a glass, then sipped it quietly. He then walked around trying to find Wufei.  
  
"-well, not exactly," a Chinese looking boy said to a man in a black suit.  
  
He was wearing a Preventers uniform and stood about 5' 3". His black hair was done back into a ponytail the length of Tre's hand from wrist to middle fingertip. He had eyes black as coal and tannish-yellow skin.  
  
"Hey, you Wufei Chang?" Tre asked the boy.  
  
"Yes, I am he," Wufei said edgily.  
  
"I'm Tre Young," Tre said extending his still gloved hand.  
  
Wufei laughed, "Do you always wear gloves to shake people's hands?"  
  
Tre gave a confused look, then looked at his hand and smiled. He removed the gloves and stuffed them in his pocket. He then offered Wufei his hand again. Wufei accepted and shook it.  
  
"I have a new job opening for you," Tre said, "of course it could be temporary depending on how long it takes to complete this job."  
  
"And what job is this?" Wufei asked, smiling.  
  
"What would you say, if I told you that I have a new Nataku waiting for you?"  
  
Wufei's eyes got wide, then he narrowed them again.  
  
"I'd say you're to convince me better than that," Wufei scoffed.  
  
"All right," Tre said. "Take a look at this."  
  
Tre pulled a projector pen out of his pocket and shone it. A holographic picture of the Neo Altron appeared. Wufei's eyes widened again, then he looked at Tre with a bewildered look on his face. Tre smirked, then said,  
  
"Is that a yes?"  
  
Before Wufei could answer, Miss Une ran into the room from her office and called all the Preventers to load up into their landers to get to their cruisers. A situation was brewing outside the atmosphere.  
  
"Quickly!" Miss Une shouted.  
  
The Preventers all ran from the room. Tre caught up to the Gundam pilots as they were running down the hall to the elevators.  
  
"Guys! Get back to the shuttle and start her up!" Tre shouted. "I'll be there soon after if you make it before me!"  
  
The other pilots nodded, then ran into a stuffed elevator. Tre ran to the stairs then leaped over the rails to each flight. When he reached the bottom, the Rush Extreme was peeling away from the parking lot. Tre placed his helmet on his head, running to his jetbike through the sea of running people. He put his gloves on, leapt onto the bike and started the engine. He turned the handlebars hard right and roared off.  
  
Just outside the space port gates, Tre passed the car and was speeding toward the shuttle. He pulled the control unit out again and the ramp began to open. Tre swung the bike's back end to the right, blowing full throttle to slow himself down. The bike seemed as though it were skidding, then it stopped. Tre loaded the bike onto its cargo platform and shoved it up the ramp. The car was pulling onto its platform, then shut its engine off. Tre strapped the car down, then shoved it up the ramp. He closed the ramp and ran to the ladder. The other pilots had gotten out of the car and up the ladder already. Tre climbed as fast as he could then pulled the ladder up.  
  
"HEERO!" Tre shouted, closing the hatch. "FIRE THE MAIN ENGINES!"  
  
"RIGHT!" Heero shouted back.  
  
Tre heard the whir of the engines as the hatch closed. Then Tre slammed the inner hatch down and assumed the pilots seat. He strapped himself in and took the controls. He stepped hard on the left pedal, the shuttle turning in that direction.   
  
They had clearance to depart once they reached the runway. Tre stepped on the right pedal, turning the shuttle to point down the runway. He stepped on both pedals the wheels stopped turning. Tre opened the throttle wide and let loose. The shuttle shot down the runway, headed straight for the large ski slope at the end. The shuttle lurched as it headed up the large and steep slope. It finally cleared and was shooting for space. Tre retracted the gear and started to pull his spacesuit on. The other pilots saw this and decided to do the same. By the time they breached the outer atmosphere, they had dressed themselves in their suits. The only thing left to put on was their helmets. Tre was following the lander he saw Wufei get on with Sally Po.  
  
The smaller craft docked with its crew's cruiser. Tre then followed the cruiser as it blasted away. Tre opened a channel with Wufei's cruiser to finish their conversation.  
  
"Wufei," Tre said. "It's Tre, do you read me?"  
  
"Yes," Wufei responded. "I read you loud and clear, Tre."  
  
"I need to know now, is it yes or no?"  
  
There was a pause on Wufei's end, then, "Yes, but I have to put this fire out first."  
  
"Understood, I'll escort you and the rest of the guys will use the Gundams to defend you all."  
  
"Thank you. I know I'm not supposed to do this, but here's the problem."  
  
Tre received all the info on what was going down. Several mobile suit carriers flying the British flag have appeared over 100 km from the outer atmosphere and were planning an all out invasion of the Earth. The lead suit was a Serpent painted white, the pilot being dubbed 'The White Spike'.  
  
"The White Spike?" Tre laughed.  
  
"Yes," Wufei said. "That is what the pilot calls himself."  
  
"Jesus," Tre groaned. "This guy is too much."  
  
"I hear you," Wufei said. "Tre! Incoming! Twelve o' clock high!"  
  
Tre spotted it. The white Serpent and its pilot, The White Spike. Tre jammed his helmet on and locked it in place. He hurried off to his Gundam, soaring through the cabin like a bat out of Hell. He closed his visor and opened the door to his Gundams pod. He flew in, the door shutting behind him. The Gundam's cockpit door was opened and Tre settled himself in the seat, strapping himself in. The cockpit door closed while Tre was bringing this machine to life. The viewscreens came on, showing Tre the insides of the pod. The whoosh of air being let out was heard and the pod doors opened. Dreadscythe flew out.  
  
Little did Tre know that Trowa had gotten wind of his plan and had set up in Heavyarms. The blue suit flowed the black suit. Tre noticed when his targeting alarm went off. The DreadScythe looked behind itself and spotted the Heavyarms trailing it.  
  
"Trowa," Tre called out, "what are you doing?"  
  
"Making sure that you don't get killed," Trowa said.  
  
Heavyarms was alongside the DreadScythe now, both suits hurtling themselves into the heat of a battle between the Preventers and the British.   
  
One cruiser released a box, then several red-tipped missiles flew at the attacking suits. Several were blown into smithereens, while the Virgos remained untouched. A Virgo lowered its defenses to deliver some of its offense. It hit the cruiser in the reactor, causing the ship to explode. Several other cruisers released their boxes, tiny missiles scattering everywhere. A cluster of Virgos was blown up into a brilliant ball of yellow fire. Wufei's cruiser had jettisoned all its missile containers, rendering the ship nearly defenseless. The only weapon now was a blaster turret. A Serpent was headed straight for it. The blaster was ineffective against the suit.  
  
Tre had to act. He rocketed the DreadScythe at the Serpent, drawing the sword. The Serpent was still going after the cruiser. DreadScythe raised the sword above its head and sliced through the torso of the Serpent. The enemy suit crackled then it disappeared into a great ball of flames.  
  
"Wufei, you cool?" Tre said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm OK," Wufei answered back.  
  
"And Sally?"   
  
"She's fine."  
  
"Good, now let's get you in that Neo Altron, eh?"  
  
"Good idea."  
  
The shuttle flew over the cruiser, then stopped above it. It rolled to its left and opened the pod that was directly above the cruiser. The Neo Altron stunned Wufei.  
  
"It's amazing," Wufei whispered.  
  
The Halloween colored suit slowly came out of the pod as the shuttle lifted away from the Gundam. Wufei was utterly amazed at the overall look of this new Nataku. A dragonhead for a helmet and black boots streaked with jagged flames, plus the wings folded on either side of the Gundams back. The arms were black as were the shoulder guards. But in the shoulder guards were the orange painted extensions. And from the cruiser, Wufei could clearly see the orange cockpit door. He could also see the hilts for katanas attached to the back sheaths. Finally, the energy beam weapon staff.  
  
"I'ma put your spacesuit in the airlock," Tre said. "It's the same design as the one you used to invade Libra over two years ago."  
  
"I see," Wufei said, still focused on the new Nataku.  
  
"Get suited up, now," Tre said.   
  
The door of the airlock was heard being shut. Wufei pressurized it and climbed in. He slipped the suit on and locked the helmet in place. He closed the door, then said to Sally,  
  
"Let the air out."  
  
She punched a few buttons, then the airlock was ready to be opened to the outside. Wufei stepped out and shut the door behind him. He kicked off the flat of the ship into DreadScythe's hand. From there, Wufei kicked off to reach the Nataku. He slammed into the cockpit door, cleared his head, and opened it. He slid inside and strapped himself into his seat. He closed the door and brought the machine to life. The viewscreens glowed and the controls lit up. Wufei had taken control of the most advanced Gundam he ever flew.   
  
Altron reached behind to grab the katanas. Wufei was surprised to find that they were energy beam weapons and not solid Gundanium blades. Nevertheless, Altron leapt into battle. Heavyarms was taking care of some Leos when a streak of green slashed across the bellies of the suits.  
  
"Wufei?" Trowa said.  
  
"Yeah, Trowa," Wufei grunted. He was swinging his weapons at the white Serpent.  
  
"Use your tail stinger," Trowa suggested.  
  
Altron raised the rear weapon and shot four beams at the enemy suit, taking out its camera. Wufei replaced the katanas with the trident/glaive, opening Nataku's fearsome set of wings. Both ends were ignited and both wings were opened. Wufei yelled as the Altron rocketed at its enemy. It spun around, swinging the glaive end around in the same direction it was spinning. Miss. Wufei tried again, the Altron jabbing the trident at the other suit. No luck. Wufei fired the head guns, hitting the suit in all places. Heavyarms and DreadScythe came up behind the suit, arm blades ignited. DreadScythe sent one blade through the torso, slitting the free blade across the neck of the suit. The head floated away, then DreadScythe shot it up with its head guns, causing the head to burst into flames. Altron jabbed the trident into the cockpit along with Heavyarms's right blade. Altron tore its weapon down to the legs, where as the Heavyarms tore through the rest of the torso. All three sped away as the suit exploded. DreadScythe ignited its scythe and slashed at a suit that was going for the shuttle.   
  
Just then, a wide yellow beam passed between the three Gundams and setting off a chain of explosions miles away. The Zero and Deathscythe joined the group and Sandrock followed after it tore at a Taurus that was bothering it. The six Gundams all started at each other, turning their heads this way and that. Then, as though they all read each others minds, they looked up and bright rounds flew from the guns embedded in their heads. The suit carrier was demolished and burst into a bright gold ball fo fire. The silhouette of the DreadScythe, with its green eyes burning through the shadow that it seemed to be, appeared against the bright fireball behind and above it.  
  
"Great job, team," Tre said.  
  
"Ah, go on, you're making me blush!" Duo said.  
  
Some of the group started to laugh, even Heero was heard laughing. Wufei was doubled over against his straps and Trowa had thrown his head back. Quatre just shook his head laughing, while Tre slammed his fist against his knee. Soon, all the laughing subsided. The six Gundam suits flew back to the shuttle and into their respective pods. The shuttle ignited its huge main engines and sped off into space.  
  
"A salute, Preventers," Sally Po said over the comm. "To the Gundam pilots and Wufei."  
  
"May they complete their mission and return home safely," Miss Une continued. 


	13. Pyrone Reigns

Chapter 13 - Pyrone Reigns  
  
The bar G's was still as hot as ever, if not more popular since that fight that broke out between the British soldiers and that Tre Young. A shadowy figure sat in a dark corner of the bar, sipping his drink. His twisted braids fell over this face a like thin curtains. He downed the last of his drink as a waiter came by.  
  
"Would you like another, sir?" the waiter asked.  
  
The figure fumbled in a pocket then produced a picture of Tre.  
  
"Have you seen this person?" the smooth, accented voice asked.  
  
"Are you one of those British guys?"  
  
"I'll ask you for the last time, have you seen this person?"   
  
The figure turned into the light. His face shone with intensity. It was Pyrone Reigns.  
  
"Look, I told ya-" the waiter started.  
  
Pyrone grabbed his shirt collar and yanked the waiter's face near his own. Brown eyes bored into the guys gray ones. Pyrone drew a gun and cocked the hammer, poking the muzzle into the guys neck.  
  
"Hey!" Clyde shouted. "What are you doing to my waiter?"  
  
Pyrone fired two rounds on either side of Clyde's head, two bottles shattering and spilling their contents onto the floor. Pyrone stood up and let the waiter go.  
  
"I'm looking for Tre Young," he said. "Does anyone know where he is?"  
  
"Last I hoid," a man spoke, "he wuz roundin' up what's his face? Chang Wufei."  
  
"I see," Pyrone said. "That's on Earth."  
  
Pyrone walked out of the bar and flung a twenty at Clyde.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, dad," Pyrone Reigns looked to his father.  
  
"Yes, I'm here," was the reply. The aged man looked to his adult son.  
  
They were on board a shuttle headed to their home colony. Pyrone was wearing black jeans that bunched near the tops of his black biker boots at about knee length. His shirt was a long sleeve black shirt topped by a trench coat (AN: WITH sleeves). He looked nothing short of a rock roadie with his twists which reached beyond his shoulders. Strangely enough, Pyrone had brought his most prized possession: an antique Ibanez 5-string bass guitar, 2001 make, autographed by the bass player of KoRN himself, Fieldy Snuts (AN: Get it? "Feel-deez-nuts"). Pyrone used that bass every time he had praticed with Tre and his brothers, and sounded just like the player who autographed the instrument many, many years ago.  
  
"Where are we going in such a hurry? Surely can't be home."  
  
"Well, why don't you just get surprised," Theodore said.  
  
"But, there's nothing at home that would surprise me," Pyrone said.  
  
"There is something there you haven't seen before."  
  
"Maybe, however, I still think you're up to something."  
  
"Well, what if I am?"  
  
"Forget it, I won't ask then."  
  
He slumped in his seat and crossed his arms. Then, he fell asleep.  
  
-One hour later-  
  
"Mr. Reigns?"  
  
Pyrone awoke to the pilot telling his father that a large shuttle was just outside. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked out the window.   
  
A large shuttle with long, bulky pods lining it was not ten yards from the small shuttle Pyrone was in. He whistled in amazement and the loudspeakers came on with a familiar voice.  
  
"Shuttle Firefly, shuttle Nightshift. Slow your speed to 15000 knots and tell Pyrone Reigns he has a Gundam to fly."  
  
"I don't believe it," Pyrone said. "It's Tre Young."  
  
"Tre?" Theo asked. "I saw him and Nikki at the merger meeting for Wiiner Corp."  
  
"Yes, dad," Pyrone said, exasperated. "You told me about a trillion times already."  
  
"Oh, yes, I remember now."  
  
"Pilot!" Pyrone shouted. "Tell Tre I'll be there in a sec."  
  
Pyrone ran to the back and yanked on a spacesuit that matched Tre's suit. He placed the helmet on his head and closed the visor. He slung a duffel bag about his shoulder, then a slim bass case, and opened the cargo bay door. He glided to his Gundam, Backlash.  
  
This Gundam stood at an even 130' tall and sported the characteristic hairstyle of its pilot, plus the dark goatee on the Gundam reached from a spot where a lower lip would be to beyond the chin. This machine looked as thought it were wearing a black flight suit like fighter pilots wear, with black boots covering the hems of the loose pant legs. This was all topped by a full trench coat armor that moves, shifts, and conforms to its wearer as if it were fabric as opposed to metal. In all, this Gundam looked more like a giant, new-age Wild West gunslinger with a large gray backpack fitted with twin rockets, angling slightly inwards on their respective sides on the bottom of the pack. On the waist was a holster belt holding a pair of machine guns like the Sandrock used during the Eve Wars of A.C. 195. Strapped to both thighs were shotgun-like beam weapons that could actually use enhancer shells to boost the beam's destructive power and pump like a shotgun. Lining the holster belts were the numerous shells to be used in the beam shotguns. Lastly, the beam scythe staff on its back could ignite three blades of bright green energy. And that was Gundam Zero-Seven, Backlash.  
  
Pyrone threw the duffel bag and bass case behind his cockpit seat and sat down in the seat. He brought the padded straps about him and snapped them in the buckle. He pressed the controls to close the door and activate the Gundam. The viewscreens glowed in the small cockpit, giving Pyrone the view of the cargo bay. He saw on his front panel that life support within the Gundam was operational, justifying his choice to open the visor on his helmet. He snapped the comm system on and hailed the cockpit on the Firefly.  
  
"This is Pyrone," Pyrone said. "Open cargo bay doors so I can get this bucket of bolts out of here."  
  
"Roger," was all the pilot said.  
  
Pyrone saw on his front viewscreen that the large doors were opening, the shuttle Nightshift just below. Pyrone merely smiled and guided the Backlash out. Backlash fired its rockets in an attempt to match speeds with the other ships. Finally, it had enough thrust to at least make a hop and grab to the other shuttle. All the sudden, the doors on the first pod from the top on the left side of the shuttle opened. Backlash fired its rockets full blast and released the Firefly to grab on the top pods of Nightshift. Pyrone shut the rockets down and stood the Gundam up. Slowly, the Gundam rose to a standing, but leaning posture against a wind that wasn't there. Backlash slowly walked toward its new hold. But something happened before the Gundam could make it there.  
  
From behind came a shot, that narrowly missed the Gundam. Backlash turned its head and saw a whole battalion of British mobile suits: manned and dolls. Pyrone cursed out loud, then snapped the comm to hail the Nightshift.  
  
"Tre," Pyrone called.  
  
"Yeah," Tre replied.  
  
"Listen, I'm going to get these bums off us, but you need to keep this shuttle steady as long as possible."  
  
"Right."  
  
Just then, Backlash did a front flip and extended its left hand to keep it on the shuttle. Then, it swung its legs around and landed in a kneeling stance, right knee on the pod's surface along with the left boot. Backlash pulled its machine guns out, aimed around the tailfin of the shuttle and fired. The spray of bullets rocketed toward the oncoming suits, damaging some, destroying others. The manned suits were the majority of the damaged or destroyed suits, with a few dolls being destroyed as well. Backlash continued the barrage until the guns were empty. Backlash folded its arms at its sides and looked at the guns as if to say, "That's all?", and holstered them. Backlash produced one of the shotguns, took a shell out of its belt with the free hand, shoved the shell into the gun, and pumped the weapon. Backlash took careful aim, then squeezed the trigger. A wide aqua-colored beam shot from the weapon, almost searing the tailfin of the shuttle. Ten suits were caught in the beam and were easily vaporized. Backlash pointed the gun vertical and pumped. It took careful aim again and let loose. This beam was golden and just as wide. Three suits avoided this blast, leaving seven more to get destroyed. Backlash held the gun across its chest and pumped, this time an empty shell was expelled. Backlash took aim at the three suits and fired. This time a wide scarlet beam caught two suits dead-on, clipping the last suit. The damaged suit was a one armed Serpent, painted white.  
  
"Oh shit," Pyrone said aloud.  
  
"What's up dawg?" Tre said.  
  
"You'll never guess who decided to join this party," Pyrone said nervously.  
  
"Shit," Tre muttered. "Heero, can you fly this thing?"  
  
"Yeah," Heero said.  
  
"Trowa, help him," Tre said as he unbuckled.  
  
Tre leapt toward the aft cabin, closing his visor in the process. He reached the door in the heptagonal cabin that read 06. Tre opened it and flew in. He sat in his Gundam's cockpit. He strapped himself in and closed the cockpit door. He activated DreadScythe, the large doors opened, allowing DreadScythe to crawl out. DreadScythe rose to a sitting position and Tre called to Pyrone.  
  
"Hey, Pyrone," Tre said.  
  
"What?" Pyrone growled.  
  
"Reach out Backlash's left hand so I can grasp onto it with DreadScythe's."  
  
"Here."  
  
The Gundam on the top of the shuttle extended its left arm so DreadScythe could grab on and haul itself up. DreadScythe reached out and grabbed the other Gundam's hand. Then DreadScythe fired its wings to get out without pulling the Backlash off. Backlash pulled the other Gundam up alongside. DreadScythe clambered to a kneeling postion like its partner, the bay doors closing. Then, it drew the beam rifle on its right leg. It fired a spray of rounds at the Serpent, only to have the enemy dodge them, but barely. DreadScythe let its weapon charge, then took aim and fired. The wide beam caught the suit's other arm, blowing the appendage off entirely. The suit then stopped where it was, getting smaller all the while as the shuttle sped away.   
  
"Why'd he stop?" Tre asked.  
  
"That's why," Pyrone said.  
  
Backlash was tapping the DreadScythe on the arm while the former was looking in the direction the shuttle was flying. DreadScythe wheeled around and saw what Backlash was looking at. The Earth was growing larger, and there was a bright red glow around the shuttle's nose. Backlash and DreadScythe looked at each other as to say, "Oh shit!" 


	14. First Contact

Chapter 14 - First Contact  
  
"Heero!" Tre shouted.  
  
"What?" Heero replied, straining.  
  
"There's a reentry checklist that Trowa can read off to you," Tre said.  
  
"OK."  
  
"Pyrone," Tre said, "we'll have to reenter on our own."  
  
"Right," Pyrone said, rolling his eyes. "Just go headlong into it."  
  
"Exactly," Tre said.  
  
The two Gundams jumped off the shuttle and fired their rockets to stay with it. The red glow surrounded the shuttle and the two Gundams as the heat of reentry burned furiously. A bright white light jumped at the three craft during their reentry into the atmosphere. After about two minutes, the sonic booms of three entering crafts resounded in the atmosphere. The two Gundams sped after the gliding shuttle. DreadScythe latched onto the craft, opening the doors of its hold, Backlash doing the same beside it. Both machines climbed into their holds and closed the doors. Then Tre and Pyrone got out of their Gundams and ran to the flight deck. Tre assumed the pilot's seat, opening his visor. Pyrone sat next to Wufei, the only seat left. He opened his visor as well.   
  
Up in the control seat, Tre was having trouble regaining control of the shuttle. He extended the speed brakes. The shuttle slowed to 400 knots from 1300, and was still slowing.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sir," a radar control personnel called his superior over.  
  
"What is it?" the captain said.  
  
"Whatever is on this radar scope is big and entering Tokyo fast."  
  
"Alert the American Air Force," the captain said. "Put them on stand-by."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Six sonic booms were heard ringing throughout the city. Five girls were walking home from the arcade when they heard the frighteningly loud booms. One girl with long blonde ponytails streaming from the two buns on her head screamed out loud and started to cry.  
  
"Jeez, Serena!" a raven haired girl growled at her bawling friend.  
  
"Take it easy, Raye," another blonde said. "That scared me, too."  
  
"I must agree with you, Mina," a blue haired girl said. "I was immensely frightened as well."  
  
"You can say that again, Amy," a tall girl with a brown ponytail said. "It scared me stiff."  
  
"Yeah, Lita," Mina agreed. "It's not everyday that Tokyo hears six big booms."  
  
These five girls were the Inner Sailor Scouts. Serena was Sailor Moon, Mina was Sailor Venus, Amy was Sailor Mercury, Raye was Sailor Mars, and Lita was Sailor Jupiter. There were four other Sailor Scouts: Sailor Saturn was Hotaru Tomoe, Sailor Uranus was Amara Ten'ou, Sailor Neptune was Michelle Kaiou, and Sailor Pluto was Trista Meiou. These four were the Outer Sailor Scouts. There was also Tuxedo Mask, Darien Chiba, but he wasn't around to help the Scouts lately. A dark power had drained him of his energy, making him a withered old man, about to die any second. In light of his present condition, Serena and Darien had decided that their future was not possible and broke their relationship up. Unfortunately, little Rini wouldn't be born.  
  
Serena finally calmed down and the five girls started on their way to Raye's temple. That's when they heard the roar of rocket engines being fired.  
  
"What in the world is that?" Raye shouted, pointing to a large flying object.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"It says we're coming in too fast!" Heero shouted as an alarm went off.  
  
"Bullshit!" Tre shouted. "We're going nowhere too fast!"  
  
"Velocity has fallen below safe flight levels!" a computer voice said.  
  
"Put all the power in the main engines!"   
  
"It's full throttle as is!"  
  
"Oh Hell!"  
  
Tre was weaving in and out of towering buildings, trying to find a wide enough place to land. He armed the gear just for the safe side. He found a spot and was going to take it. Nothing looked familiar to him, so he did with what he could. He dropped the gear as Wufei said,  
  
"We're going to hit some people!"  
  
Tre grunted as he pulled hard aft on the stick, the nose of the craft rising very slowly.  
  
"We're still descending!" Heero announced.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Get down!" Lita screamed.  
  
She literally tackled all her friends to the ground as a huge craft's wheel would have taken their heads off, had they been standing up. It touched down with a screech from it's tires and was still going pretty fast.  
  
"It's going to crash into that building!" Mina shouted. "VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"TOUCHDOWN!" Tre yelled.  
  
"DON"T CELEBRATE YET, LOOK!" Pyrone shouted, pointing to an office building in front of them.  
  
All the pilots began to scream, a chorus of horrified men resounded in the cockpit. Then, the shuttle lurched forward very sharply, the nose gear slamming onto the ground and every pilot being thrown against their straps. They had just stopped short of the building, the nose only inches from the building. Tre was the first one to laugh, then Trowa laughed, then everyone did. Hugs were exchanged and some people were dumb enough to kiss another. Pyrone kissed Wufei on the cheek out of sheer joy to be alive only to get busted in the jaw.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, boy."  
  
Sailor Venus had used Love Chain Encircle to catch the large craft and slow it down before it crashed into the building.  
  
Right now, her hair was a little frizzed as she had skidded ten yards from her original position. Her chain was wrapped around the large craft that flew over the group of girls she appeared from.  
  
"Mina, are you all right?" Lita asked the sailor-suited girl. "Sailor Venus?"  
  
"Yeah," Venus/Mina squeaked.  
  
She dropped her chain, which disappeared after she let it go. She fell to her knees, then her knees gave out and she fell even further, sitting on the asphalt. She couldn't believe that she had just stopped such a large craft from ramming into a building. She was kinda scared, though. It seemed that she would be pulled all across Tokyo by that thing. She immediately fainted, being caught by her friends.  
  
"SAILOR VENUS!" they chorused.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What the Hell just happened?" Tre asked.  
  
All the pilots shook their heads, the looks on their faces dumbfounded. They had no explanation as to what had just taken place. Pyrone stood up and took his helmet off, setting it in his chair.  
  
"I'ma get Backlash out and move this toolshed around so we can take off, or something," Pyrone said.  
  
"Wait," Tre said. "Maybe all the Gundams should move this thing to a safe place."  
  
"No, that's too dangerous!" Quatre shouted. "We'd attract to much attention if all the Gundams got out and did that."  
  
"But what alternative do you suggest we try, Quatre?" Trowa asked.  
  
"Two Gundams at the most, but not all seven," Quatre said.  
  
"One of these Gundams can lift ten times its own weight," Pyrone looked to Tre.  
  
"OK," Tre said. "You and I will get our Gundams and move this to a safe place."  
  
"Good," Pyrone said.  
  
The two helmetless pilots walked to the aft cabin and walked into their respective Gundams's pods. Before Tre got in DreadScythe's pod, he looked to the rest of the pilots and said,  
  
"Buckle up."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Maybe we should see if anyone is in there and if they are all right," Raye suggested.  
  
"Perhaps we should let the authorities take care of that," Amy said.  
  
"Oh, come on, Amy," Lita said. "We're the Sailor Scouts, we have the authority over the authorities. Besides, the police don't even carry guns."  
  
"Oh my," Amy said, sweatdropping. "All right then."  
  
"Moon Eternal Power!"  
  
"Mercury Crystal Power!"  
  
"Mars Crystal Power!"  
  
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"  
  
All the girls transformed into the Sailor Scouts. Then, Sailor Venus woke up.  
  
"Venus!" Jupiter exclaimed. "You're OK!"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be all right," Venus said, getting up.  
  
Just then, the girls saw two of the large pods on the shuttle opening. Two huge robots that had weird hairstyles sat up in the pods then got out carefully. The craft shifted from side-to-side as the two robots threw the craft off balance. The one robot with the wings on its back and black dreads looked to the one with longer braids and trench coat.  
  
The two robots pointed at the craft, shook their heads, nodded, and even crossed their arms. Then, the one with braids started walking to the front of the craft.  
  
All five Scouts were literally shaking in their boots. What were these things? Why did they come to Earth? What was going on?  
  
"Uh, Mercury?" Jupiter asked shakily.  
  
"Y-yeah, Jupiter?" Mercury answered back.  
  
"C-c-could you scan those things with your computer?"  
  
"OK," Mercury said.  
  
A blue tinted visor came across Mercury's eyes and she produced a small computer. She flipped it open and typed a sequence of commands. All the while, the two robots were stomping around the craft, shaking the ground beneath the Scouts. "Braids" got in front of the craft and "Dreads" got behind the huge bells on the back of the craft and pushed down. The nose of the craft pointed up, "Braids" pushed the nose and the large craft started to swing around rapidly. Finally, Mercury shouted,  
  
"I got it!"  
  
"You got what?" a silver-haired Eternal Sailor Moon asked.  
  
"Those robots have humans inside," Mercury said, "and the humans are controlling the robots."  
  
"So what's that craft that they're pushing?" Venus asked.  
  
"It's a spacecraft of some kind, but it's too big to be an American shuttle," Mercury said.  
  
"Why an American shuttle?" Mars asked.  
  
"Because that's what it resembles more than anything I know," Mercury said.  
  
"So its American," Jupiter said excited.  
  
"Not exactly," Mercury countered.  
  
The ground underneath them shook as one of the robots, "Braids" to be exact, landed near them, looking down menacingly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, Tre," Pyrone said over the comm. "Take a look at these Halloweeners."  
  
"Hey!" Tre said. "They don't look half bad, especially that blonde one."  
  
"You and your blondes," Pyrone said. "Should I kill them?"  
  
"No," Tre said. "I wouldn't."  
  
Pyrone laughed, "This is gonna be great!"  
  
Tre suddenly perked up. He was receiving psychic vibrations from someone who was obviously a woman.  
  
'I haven't been expecting you, Sailor Universe,' the voice in his head said.  
  
'Who the Hell are you?' Tre thought back.  
  
'That is irrelevant at the moment. Meet me in the alley I am showing you.'  
  
Tre received an image of an alley between a brick building and a small store.  
  
'I'll be there soon,' Tre thought.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Braids' was pulling the gun on its left leg out of its holster. It grabbed a shell on its belt and shoved it in the gun. Then, loud sliding sounds and clicks were heard as 'Braids' pumped the gun, then took aim.....right at the Scouts.  
  
The Scouts were all shaking, then they all started bawling at the top of their lungs, turning up the decibals. They just screamed and let the tears stream out.  
  
"Braids" just sweat dropped. Then a human voice was heard.  
  
"Jesus Christ," a deep, smooth voice said. "You are nothing more than a bunch of weak little twats."  
  
"Give them a break," 'Dreads' spoke up. It, too, had a deep, but different voice.  
  
"What for?" 'Braids' looked at 'Dreads'. "You are nothing but a softie, DreadScythe."  
  
"Maybe," DreadScythe said. "But, I'm not a merciless killer either, Backlash."  
  
"Suck eggs!"  
  
"Kiss ass!"  
  
"Fuck you!"  
  
"Well you, too!"  
  
"You want me to fire on your metallic ass?"  
  
"Go ahead," DreadScythe challenged, whipping a gun of its own out and taking aim.  
  
The two robots just stared each other down, their weapons pointed at each other.  
  
"This is fucked," Backlash said, lowering its gun.  
  
"Yeah," DreadScythe said, lowering his.  
  
"Let's get back to the shuttle and leave."  
  
"Fine."  
  
The two robots stomped away, holstering their guns. They each took a wing and a spot underneath the shuttle. Then, they fired their engines and blasted off with the shuttle into the sky. That's when the authorities and the Air Force arrived. The Air Force aircraft were combing the sky while the authorities began to question the Scouts, but never got the chance. The Scouts made themselves scarce and not a moment too soon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So," Pyrone asked. "Any reason why you stopped me?"  
  
"Yeah," Tre said. "That sailor-suited girl with the orange skirt looked awfully familiar to me."  
  
"How?" Pyrone asked. "We've never come to the past before."  
  
"So we've somehow traveled into the past, huh?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Wonder how you know?"  
  
"Don't get off the subject."  
  
"OK, OK. I guess the cat's out of the bag. I am a Scout, like them."  
  
"What?" Pyrone was confused.  
  
"I'll tell you once we get back to the shuttle."  
  
The two Gundams took the shuttle into space at a nice, comfortable orbit of 100 miles above the Earth.   
  
'Venus,' Tre thought. 'Wait for me.' 


	15. Speculation

Chapter 15 - Speculation  
  
"I still think it was an alien," Serena interjected.  
  
"Serena," Amy groaned. "It wasn't an alien."  
  
"It could have been!" Serena whined.  
  
"Then how would you explain the humans inside?" Mina asked.  
  
"Well..." Serena paused. "I don't know."  
  
The Scouts had run to their favorite hangout, a small restaurant run by a friend of theirs. They had long since de-transformed while they ran and had come here to rest. Since they came in the door, they have been sitting around throwing ideas on what those things they saw really were. But all they could do was speculate.  
  
"Hey girls," a low feminine voice said. "What are you up to?"  
  
A tall, short-haired blonde walked in. She was trailed by an aqua-haired girl and a woman with green-black hair. Amara was decked in a man's sport suit, Michelle was wearing her school uniform, and Trista was wearing a pale purple outfit with a knee-length skirt and a red bow across a white blouse. The Inners were wearing their school uniforms.  
  
"Oh, hey, Amara," Lita said. "You'll never guess what we saw today."  
  
"Really?" the girl with aqua hair asked. "What would that be?"  
  
"It wouldn't happen to be a couple of enormous robots and a strange shuttle, would it?" the woman with green-black hair asked.  
  
"You hit it right on the button, Trista," Raye said.  
  
"How did you know?" Lita and Mina chorused.  
  
"Amara, Michelle, and I all witnessed the event from the rooftop," Trista said.  
  
"Michelle almost gave us away," Amara said, indicating the aqua-haired girl.  
  
"It was quite unusual to see giant robots in our city, Amara," Michelle said.  
  
"Tell me the whole story," Trista said, sitting down.   
  
Michelle and Amara pulled up chairs to the table. Then Amy began the story.  
  
"We were all walking to Raye's temple to study. We were deeply immersed in a conversation when the six sonic booms were heard. Then Serena started to break down and cry-"  
  
"HEY!" Serena yelled. "Is there a problem with crying when you're scared?"  
  
"SERENA!" the rest of the group shouted.   
  
"Go ahead, Amy," Trista said.  
  
"Anyway, Raye started to get on Serena's case about her-um-high decibal levels when we all started to defend Serena. That's when Raye spotted the strange shuttle coming at us. Lita knocked us all down when the shuttle's main gear flew only inches above us.  
  
"Then, Mina noticed that the shuttle was about to collide with a building and transformed into Sailor Venus. She used her Love Chain to catch the shuttle and slow it down. She succeeded, but barely. It dragged her at least ten meters before she and the shuttle stopped. After she had stopped it, she fainted. Then, we all transformed to see if there were any survivors in the shuttle. Well, we got more than we bargained for.   
  
"As you know, the two large robots came out of two of the seven pods surrounding the shuttle and started to communicate silently to each other. My theory is that they had an intercom system between them, and they were using that to communicate without us hearing, since I found out that there were humans inside the robots. The one with the long braids, Backlash, went around to the front of the shuttle and lifted the nose as DreadScythe pushed down on the aft portion of the shuttle. The two turned the shuttle around and spotted us. Backlash landed near us, drew a rather large shotgun from its left leg, and loaded a shell into it. It pumped the gun and aimed at us. We were all so scared that we all started to cry. Then, the Backlash spoke to us in a human voice, calling us 'weak little twats'. The DreadScythe came over and started to defend us, getting into a fight with the Backlash. The DreadScythe drew its own gun and aimed it at Backlash, who in turn pointed his at DreadScythe. The two just stared each other down for a little bit, then had a brief exchange-"  
  
"Yeah," Lita jumped in. "Something like, 'This is not-'"  
  
"LITA!" the rest of the group shouted. "Go ahead, Amy."  
  
"Thank you," Amy said. "After they had their exchange, they walked back to the shuttle, lifted it up, and flew off with it."  
  
The three older females nodded. Trista lifted her head up first and looked at the Inner Scouts. Then, she said,  
  
"They are from the future."  
  
"What?" Lita said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Mina offered.  
  
"Yes," Trista said. "They are weapons called mobile suits. Those are special mobile suits called Gundams. They are named after the metal that armors them."  
  
"Which is?" Amy asked.  
  
"Gundanium," Trista said. "I noticed several time warps were forming in the atmosphere recently, that I had nothing to do with. It was only a matter of time before a craft fell through one."  
  
"It has to be destiny," Serena said. "Why else would some random shuttle with Gundams or whatever, fall through a time warp without a reason?"  
  
Everyone looked at Serena like she had just grown an extra nose or something. Where did that come from? What was she talking about? Only Trista knew that she was right, it was destiny that those seven have come, especially Sailor Universe.  
  
"Um, Serena?" Raye asked.  
  
"Yeah?" Serena answered.  
  
"Are you feeling all right?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"What you just said could be the key to everything that's happened and will come to pass in the flow of time," Trista said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"OK, so what do you think they were?" Pyrone asked Wufei.  
  
"A group of weak, costumed onnas," Wufei said.  
  
"Again with your weak onnas," Duo said.  
  
"Shut it, Maxwell!" Wufei yelled.  
  
"Shutting up," Duo said.  
  
"Tre?" Pyrone said.  
  
"Hmm?" Tre seemed to be staring off into space...literally.  
  
"What did you say back in your Gundam?"  
  
"About the Scouts?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"OK, I'll tell you my most intimate secret," Tre said, looking at the group of pilots.  
  
"Well, are you gay?" Duo asked, laughing.  
  
"No," Tre laughed.  
  
"Then out with it," Trowa said.  
  
"OK, there is a legend," Tre began, "that there were princes and princesses of the   
  
planets and celestial bodies of the universe. They all interacted in a harmonius kingdom called the Moon Kingdom. Their ruler was Queen Serenity-"  
  
"INJUSTICE!" Wufei spat. "A WOMAN IS NOT FIT TO RULE A KING-"  
  
"SHUT UP, WUFEI!" the pilots shouted.  
  
"Anyway," Tre continued, "Queen Serenity wasn't the supreme ruler of the universe. That was King Universe's job.  
  
"Ol' King Universe had a wife and a son. His son was the only male Sailor Scout, and the strongest of all. So strong, that his power was greater than all the other Sailor Scouts' power combined plus Queen Serenity's power on top of that. He could've taken a planet out with a flick of his finger, for God's sake.   
  
"When he was only five, his father and the king of Venus arranged to have Prince Universe and Princess Venus married. Both prince and princess were happy about it because they liked each other. When the little prince was fifteen, he was appointed the protector of the protectors. He was supposed to watch over the Scouts and defend them.  
  
"So when the Moon Kingdom got into a battle with the Negaverse, run by Queen Beryl, the Scouts were all involved in the war and Universe wasn't. He was too busy fighting off a very viscious enemy that threatened to enter his universe. He fought as hard as he could to get to the war on the moon. But he was too late. Everyone was dead, even his beloved Venus. Then he was killed by Beryl in a fight and is reborn today.  
  
"I am he, Sailor Universe," Tre said.  
  
The pilots looked at each other, then at Tre. Suddenly, all the pilots started laughing. Heero and Trowa threw their heads back and laughed like maniacs. Duo slapped his knee, doubled over. Quatre and Wufei were hugging each other, tears running down their faces. Pyrone just breathed in and laughed very loudly, over and over. Tre just sat there, arms crossed. He floated lazily around the cabin. When the laughter died, he produced a black-handled switchblade. Then,  
  
"Universe Celestial Power!" Tre yelled.  
  
The pilots all wide-eyed and scared, backed away from Tre as black lightning bolts enveloped his body, sprouting from his knife point. They ran horizontal and vertical, creating a network of bolts around him. Then a black flash and his spacesuit was replaced with a pair of baggy black jeans covered by his mid-shin high black boots. A black long sleeve shirt with a silver U surrounded by a broad, slanted ring covered his torso and arms. Then the black sleeveless trench coat that reached just below his ankles. Finally, the long curvy sword in its sheath on his back, the hilt behind his right shoulder, the beam scythe staff handle behind his left shoulder, and the tiara with the black stone in the center crossing his forehead.  
  
"Told ya," Sailor Universe said.  
  
"Tre?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"Yeah?" Sailor Universe said.  
  
"My God," Pyrone whispered.  
  
"It's me, dawg."  
  
"Yes, well, I can see that."  
  
"It'll be easy as Hell to spot the other Scouts," Duo said.  
  
"Yeah," Heero agreed, smiling.  
  
"Well, I have to go y'all," Sailor Universe said, de-transforming.  
  
"Why?" Duo asked.  
  
"I have business to attend to on Earth."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tre flew the DreadScythe back to Tokyo, trying to slow the Gundam before it entered the atmosphere fast enough to cause a sonic boom. He activated the Hyper Stealth and flew around Tokyo for a while, trying to find a good spot to land the damn Gundam. He found a very deserted building structure and squeezed the Gundam into the framework, as if it were a statue under construction.  
  
Tre opened the cockpit, grabbed the skateboard and helmet from behind his seat and hopped onto the cable. It lowered him to the ground swiftly.  
  
Tre was decked in a pair of khaki Jnco shorts and a white tank. His low socks came up past the tops of the black skateboard shoes. Tre got onto the street and snapped the black helmet over his head, stuffing a black ballcap into his pocket.   
  
He mounted the board and pushed off with his right foot. He pushed a few more times and rode for a while toward a stair rail. He ollied five feet into the air and performed a truck grind all the way down the rail. People were avoiding the rail, backing away from the skateboarder. He then kickflipped the board and landed it from the rail. He pushed off several times before turning onto another sidewalk. He was racing across a crosswalk and almost ran into a woman. He jumped off the board, right over the woman, letting the board go underneath her. He landed right onto the board perfectly, absorbing the impact by crouching. The woman about fainted.   
  
Tre kept riding for a good five minutes through the park, boardsliding on benches and and pulling benihanas after he ollied off the benches. People were jumping out of the way, not being used to such vigor from teens. He then crossed a street and turned left onto a sidewalk. He pushed off, getting faster, people leaping out of his way. He came to an entrance to an alley and leaned the board backwards, the tail end acting as a brake, scraping against the pavement. While it was slowing, he rounded the board's nose to point into the alley to his right.  
  
Tre dismounted, and stomped his right foot onto the board's tail end, popping it into the air and catching it with his hand. He unlatched the helmet, took it off his head and lathched it around the top kingpin. He placed his cap backwards on his head and walked into the alley.  
  
Standing against the wall was a woman with green-black hair. She was wearing a sailor fuku, Tre guessed, and was holding a large key topped by a garnet orb.  
  
"Wassup, Pluto?" Tre said.  
  
"Hello, my friend," Sailor Pluto said.  
  
"It must have been an eternity to wait for me, huh?"  
  
"Very funny," Pluto said flatly. "This is serious business, Tre."  
  
"So what?"  
  
"We were expecting you all to come to our time. I didn't think it would be this soon."  
  
"Well I'll be damned, I was invited into the past to have a big reunion."  
  
"That isn't the point. You and the others are here for a reason."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
Sailor Pluto lifted herself off the wall and held her staff above her. The scenery changed from the alley in Tokyo to a full-fledged war. It was dark and the ground was dusty and gray. Debris from once proud buildings littered the ground. Slabs of concrete and shards of glass all lay spread over the pavement with twisted metallic beams cast contorted shadows. Screams of people were heard as they ran for cover, their clothes tattered and dirty.   
  
Tre then heard the sounds of machine guns and beam weapons firing their rounds off. He also heard an energy beam weapon slicing through metal. Tre saw the Gundams fighting an army of tall metallic beings only a quarter the height of the Gundams. The Scouts were on the ground near the feet of the Gundams, blasting all the creatures they could. It was an intense battle. Neo Queen Serenity suddenly unleashed a blinding blast of white energy; clean and pure. The metallic beings were gone, the Gundams and the Scouts were all shielding their eyes. Then the Gundams all crouched on one knee, powered down, and the cockpits opened. The pilots all hopped out.  
  
"Shall we take a closer look?" Sailor Pluto asked.  
  
"Yeah," Tre said.  
  
They seemed to warp from one point to the other. Tre saw himself in the future.  
  
He was much different. He had grown taller, by at least three inches. He had a cut running along the top of his cheek, bleeding. He had his rings in, plus three new ones that encircled his lower lip, but his hair was cut into inch long dreads. He had grown a goatee around the upper lip and circling down to his chin, a thin strip of coarse hair from his lower lip to his chin. His body was much more muscular and shapely, bulging from the black tank he was wearing. Tattooes ran up and down his arm, ranging from names and dates to grotesque images and and custom designs. The rest of him was decked in forest green fatigues pants and black combat boots.   
  
The pilots all looked different, much like the future Tre had. Only they still had their same overall look from their past selves and they were all wearing the same uniform as Tre.   
  
Heero had small dreads splaying across his head. Even he had become more muscular and grown a lot of facial hair, not to mention his increased height; the guy was six feet even. His arms were as well decorated with numerous tattooes. And to ghost Tre's surprise, he had a ring encircling his lower lip.  
  
Duo was changed a bunch. His braid had gotten much longer, for one, and the guy was as tall as present Tre. Duo was still clean shaven in the future, but he still had a determined and cold stare from his eyes, like a bull. And like a bull, he had a nose ring through his septum. His arms were more bulging with the sinews underneath, his legs as well. Scythe tattoes ran up and down his arms, all the blades were different colors and his right forearm bore an image of a naked woman; Sailor Jupiter.  
  
Trowa had a shorter hair cut and a different hairstyle. Instead of the long bangs in front of his face, he had short hair curled on the top of his head and the sides were cut short. His muscular frame was accented more than ever, the sinews bulging through his very skin. The guy had an earring in the cartliage of his left ear: a quarter-inch diameter palladium hoop with an aqua ball on it. No tattooes ran up and down his arms, but a small tattoo of Neo Heavyarms was on his right arm, near the shoulder joint. His chin was covered in short, coarse hairs and he reached the same height as Duo.  
  
Quatre was indeed different. If you thought he would always remain innocent little Quatre, you are so wrong. His hair was done in four-inch long dreads, down the sides of his head. His nose was full of nose rings and studs. In the septum were three gold rings and in the left nostril were at least two studs of platinum. The right nostril had one blue stoned stud and one gold ring. In his left ear, lining from the cartilage to the lobe, were five silver rings.  
  
'Whoa,' Tre thought. 'Quatre is freaky.'  
  
That wasn't all. Quatre had become taller, as tall as future Heero, and was much stronger, for his muscles were just as toned as Heero's. His wits were all about him though. He was still considered the brains of the team, as far as Tre knew.  
  
Wufei had certainly changed his hair. It now had different colors: orange near the top and lightening as it reached the roots, like a fire, and stood up in a series of spikes. He as well had grown more muscular, the bulge from his arms was all Tre saw that told him so, plus just under Quatre's height. Wufei had no piercings, but one tattoo. A tattoo of a dragon on his entire right arm.  
  
Lastly, Pyrone. The guy was obviously tricked out this time, if not before. His head was still shrouded by the "Head" twists, which had been cut to shoulder length. His face was covered by beard and the long hairs of his chin were reaching his chest. He already had a muscular frame, but it was even more toned and bulging. And in both eyebrows were a set of five gold rings and two silver hoops in each earlobe.  
  
The Sailor Scouts that were present (Mercury, Venus, Neo Queen Serenity, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto) all looked pretty much the same, save for the fact that they all looked more feminine and their hair was longer. The younger Scouts (the Neo Queen included) were indeed grown into tall, fine ladies. Their bodies were much more developed and shapely, as opposed to their still developing teenage bodies. Their breasts swelled with the years of maturity and development and their slim frames were very seductive and curvy. However, Neptune and Pluto were already very shapely and matured. This time, all the women had their lips shaded in their dominant color (a darker shade of pink for Serenity, blue for Mercury, orange for Venus, crimson for Mars, forest green for Jupiter, aqua for Neptune, and garnet for Pluto.)  
  
Mercury kept her hair the same, however, it did add to her beauty. Venus's long hair had reached her knees by know over the years, but she had to have cut it at some point.   
  
"There will be more coming soon," future Tre said to the group.  
  
"What do you mean, babe?" Venus said to future Tre.  
  
'Holy crap she sounds fine,' ghost Tre was thinking. 'And she called me babe!? What's that about?'  
  
"I hear their thoughts," future Tre said. "Transform guys!"  
  
Each pilot produced a small handheld computer and raised it above their heads.  
  
"Zero! Heero shouted.  
  
"Zero-two!" Duo exploded.  
  
"Zero-three!" Trowa exclaimed.  
  
"Zero-four!" Quatre yelled.  
  
"Zero-five!" Wufei screamed.  
  
"Zero-six!" Tre bellowed.  
  
"Zero-seven!" Pyrone roared.  
  
A network of green lines surrounded each pilot, enveloping them in a seemingly complex design blueprint. Then, metal started forming around them all in the form of...  
  
"The Gundams," ghost Tre said. "They've transformed into their respective Gundams."  
  
"Yes," ghost Pluto said. "You were given those tools in the same year that we just came from."  
  
"So what's the point of this little trip?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
An entire field corp of metallic midgets were coming from the opposite end of the field. They were lead by one other Gundam with spikes on its head. Tre's eyes widened as he figured out who was in that large machine.  
  
"Jesus, its Shawn," Tre said.  
  
"Yes," Pluto said. "Shawn Chamberlin has decided to join up with the dark forces of the universe because you failed to kill him in exchange for your wife's life."  
  
"And whom is my wife?"  
  
"Sailor Venus, of course."  
  
"I knew it! That's why she called me babe! When were we married?" Tre asked.  
  
"In After Colony one-nine-eight," Pluto answered.  
  
"Hmm," was all Tre said.  
  
The smaller Gundams were all tensed for battle, their weapons drawn and ready. The Scouts were set in fighting stances. The metal midgets made their move first. They flew at the Scouts and "mini-Gundams". They all looked like little kids with beefy bodies and metallic skin, but that didn't stop the Scouts and MG's from destroying them. DreadScythe MG sliced through them all like tissue paper with the scythe and sword. The suit somehow looked different, because there was a double-barreled beam rifle strapped to the right leg and the wings were not the only things on the suit's back. It was moving too fast for Tre to pick up on the difference.   
  
All the sudden, the Zero MG just got its helmet knocked off and and it seemed to have Heero's hairstyle.  
  
"What the-?" Tre said.  
  
"The suits have your hairstyles when they come around your bodies," Pluto explained.  
  
"Uh huh," Tre said.  
  
Just then, future Quatre just yelled out,  
  
"I'm sick of this!"  
  
Sandrock MG threw its helmet off, blonde dreaded hair covering its head, and just let loose. It blasted its way from midget to midget, slicing them into bits of metal shards. Deathscythe and DreadScythe were all too busy doing the same thing. Then a loud blast was heard. The Gundam off in the distance had fired at the group of Scouts and MG's. Several of them lay like they were dead or unconscious.  
  
DreadScythe MG went ballistic. It roared and a golden tiara formed across it's forehead. It then drew the sword and scythe, both weapons at the ready. Just before it was seen striking the larger suit down, the image blurred and swirled. Tre felt dizzy and shaken, scared and confused. He fell to his knees, holding his head and coughing. Then, they were back in the alley. Tre felt nauseous and was coughing very harshly. He could barely stand up, so Pluto picked him up and placed him on his feet.  
  
"What happened?" Tre said groggily.  
  
"You aren't used to coming back from images of the future like I am," Pluto said.  
  
"I felt like I was going to barf my guts out," Tre coughed.  
  
"You'll be fine in a few minutes."  
  
"Why is that so significant?" Tre asked. "I fight all the time."  
  
"That is the future of Hell," Pluto said sternly. "If you don't bring the Scouts to your time and try to bring some magic back to a place where science and technology rule, what is to become of the prosperous future?"  
  
"It can become a future of Hell," Tre finished.  
  
"Yes," Pluto said, tears welling in her eyes. "I am still a little fuzzy on the seeings of the future."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Pluto let out a sob and covered her eyes, then said, "I have been alone for many millenia, guarding the Gates of Time. It is worse every passing day."  
  
"You will find a good man to spend eternity with, I know that for a fact," Tre soothed.  
  
"I hope so," Pluto sniffed. Then she embraced Tre, his powerful arms were very comforting to her. After about five minutes, Tre released Pluto.  
  
"I gotta go, lata," Tre said, removing his hat and placing the helmet on.  
  
He dropped the board to the ground and rolled away. Pluto stared after him for a minute then disappeared into the shadows.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Once Tre had gotten back, the other pilots were all over his case. Tre wouldn't answer to any of them becuase he was too busy trying to make sense of what Pluto showed him. How could the Gundams not be able to eliminate the forces of darkness, even with the help of the Scouts?   
  
"This is whack," Tre groaned. "I better get changed."  
  
He undressed out of his khaki shorts, took off his shoes, and left his shirt on. He then pulled his baggy black jeans over his legs, zipped and buttoned them up. He then pulled his boots over his legs and part of his jeans, lacing those up with his psychic sense. While he was doing that, he pulled on his long sleeve Quiksilver shirt and his trench coat. He finally attached his four foot wallet chain to his black wallet and stuffed the wallet in his back pocket.  
  
He emerged from his room and to the group of pilots waiting outside.  
  
"Let's go to Earth!" Tre said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So we hide the Gundams in a park or something?" Duo asked.  
  
The Gundams were all flying to the Earth, back to Tokyo. The pilots were on a quest to find the other Scouts.  
  
"No," Tre said. "Somewhere less likely to be inspected."  
  
"Where?" Quatre asked.  
  
"I don't know!" Tre said. "Figure somethin' out!"  
  
"How about the park?" Trowa said.  
  
"NO!" Tre yelled. "The park is too conspicuous!"  
  
"OK, OK, I got it!" Wufei said. "The park!"  
  
Tre muttered to himself, then, "FINE! We'll hide them in the park!"  
  
The Gundams were just about to make reentry. They guarded themselves the best they could and let gravity take over. Fiery red glows surrounded the machines as they burned through the atmosphere. Neo Wing Zero went in bird mode and entered the atmosphere that way. Once they had broken through the Earth's barrier of air, they flew to the park. They all landed in a part of the park where a lot of trees grew and crouched their Gundams beneath the foliage. The Gundams' heads were lowered onto their higher knee, arms crossed around the leg. The Gundams powered down and the cockpits opened.  
  
Out of their respective Gundams came Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Tre, and Pyrone. The first five pilots were wearing their everyday outfits while Tre sported the outfit he just changed into and Pyrone wore a black flight suit. Both of the older boys wore black boots.  
  
"So, how are we going to find them?" Duo asked.  
  
"Oh come now," Pyrone said. "It's just a walk in the park."  
  
Tre sputtered, then laughed out loud. Duo got the joke and just chuckled. Pyrone and Heero just smiled. Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei just blinked. They didn't know what was going on.  
  
"Come on," Tre laughed. "Let's get this party started."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mom!" Serena called through the house.  
  
"What is it, Serena?" Ikuko Tsukino answered.  
  
"I'm going to the park with my friends," Serena said. "I'll be home at eleven."  
  
"OK, have fun," Ikuko said.  
  
Serena rushed out the door and ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the park. Her blonde streamers of ponytails flew behind her as she ran to the park. All the Scouts were going to be there, the Outers included. They needed a place to discuss these futuristic newcomers.  
  
"Serena!" a black cat said to Serena.  
  
"Luna?" Serena said.  
  
"Yes, I just had your mother summon me in my dream," Luna huffed.  
  
"What did she say?"  
  
"She said that there will be another Scout joining us tonight."  
  
"How many of us are there?"  
  
"This might be the missing link, the most powerful Scout of all."  
  
"What's she look like?"  
  
"SHE?" Luna laughed. "No, no, no. It's not a she, it's a he."  
  
"What? I wasn't aware that there were boy Sailor Scouts."  
  
"There is a legend of another that I haven't heard from your mother at all."  
  
"The new Scout?"  
  
"I'll tell you later," Luna said. "She also said we would have seven new allies."  
  
"Artemis has their transformation tools?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
They had reached the park, huffing and panting. From here they walked deeper into the park, trying to find the other Scouts. They first saw Trista and walked over to the woman.  
  
"Trista!" Serena exclaimed.  
  
"Serena," Trista replied calmly.  
  
"Did Luna tell you there is a new Scout and seven new allies?" Serena asked.  
  
"Yes," Trista said. "But, the new Scout is also one of the new allies."  
  
"So it's just seven Serena, not eight," Luna said.  
  
The teen, the woman, and the cat all met up with the rest of their group. They were sitting on the stage, the moon's light cascading over them all. When they spotted the two women approaching, they walked over to the two and listened to Trista.  
  
"I know you've seen first-hand what these machines are, but you haven't seen their destructive side. They are dangerous weapons."  
  
"If they are so dangerous," Amara jumped in, "then why are we even going to interfere with them?"  
  
"Yes, why mama?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Because they are in a time where everything they know doesn't even exist," Trista said. "Besides, they're probably scared stiff."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This is unbelievable!" Duo exclaimed, smiling. "Everything here is so, so-"  
  
"Neat?" Tre finished.  
  
"Yeah!" Duo shouted.  
  
"Well, it is the twentith century, Duo," Pyrone said.  
  
"It's so primitive here," Wufei complained. "Everything is so fragile."  
  
"Things are much different between hundreds of years," Pyrone said.  
  
"Where are we going?" Quatre asked.  
  
"To a stage I saw while we were landing," Tre said.  
  
"A stage? In the park?" Trowa asked.  
  
"Yep," Tre said. "And as soon as we round that bend we'll see it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sailor Scouts!" a scratchy, feminine voice said. "I have come to destroy you."  
  
The group wheeled around. Before them was a female looking creature with pale blue skin, medium length black hair, and a very revealing outfit. Her yellow eyes pierced through the darkness and the slits of her pupils expanded as she fell into the shadows. She had a nasty set of yellow, pointy teeth that she was baring.  
  
"Who are you?" Amara asked. "And who are the Sailor Scouts?"  
  
"Don't play dumb!" the creture squawked. "I am Fagila (AN: pronounced 'fah-hee-la') and I know you are the Sailor Scouts. I've watched you for years planning my move for now, when you are weakest."  
  
"We just defeated Chaos a year ago," Lita said. "So I don't know what you mean when we are weak."  
  
"Have you used your powers within this year at any point?" Fagila screeched.  
  
"Yes," Trista answered. "Transform Scouts!"  
  
"Mercury Crystal Power!"  
  
"Venus Crystal Power!"   
  
"Moon Eternal Power!"  
  
"Mars Crystal Power!"  
  
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"  
  
"Saturn Crystal Power!"  
  
"Uranus Crystal Power!"  
  
"Neptune Crystal Power!"  
  
"Pluto Crystal Power!"  
  
The group of nine females were bathed in different colored lights and blinding flashes of each color flared up. There stood the Sailor Scouts, all nine of the Moon Kingdom protectors. Sailor Moon started a little speech,  
  
"In the wake of one battle, there is sure to be another rising from the waves of war. That is why I, Sailor Moon, the sailor soldier of love and justice, will punish you in the name of the Moon."  
  
Fagila grinned at the little pose Sailor Moon pulled off, then laughed. It was a high pitched and annoying laugh. A gun shot went off from behind the Scouts. 


	16. Second Contact

Chapter 16 - Second Contact  
  
There at the entrance to the stage from the sidewalk were seven young men. The one in the middle was wearing all black attire and had dreadlocks hanging past his jaw, plus he had a pistol in his hand and was pointing it to the sky. On his right was a boy with long, light brown bangs combed in front of his face. To that boy's right was a boy with a minister's outfit and a long chestnut braid. To his right was a glaring boy with messy brown hair, green tank, and tight black shorts. On the left side of the dreadlocked guy was a blonde boy. To his left was a Chinese boy with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. To his left was a man with long braids hanging to his chest and a thin goatee running from his bottom lip to past his chin.  
  
"I couldn't help but notice a group of nice girls being harassed by an ugly monster," the guy with dreads said.  
  
'His voice sounds familiar,' Sailor Venus thought to herself.  
  
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN UGLY MONSTER, YOU POOR EXCUSE FOR A GROUPIE!!" Fagila shouted.  
  
"Oh, so I'm a groupie, am I?" the dread guy said.  
  
"NOT JUST THAT," Fagila shouted. "YOU ARE AN INSIGNIFICANT, PUNY, INTERFERING, NOSY SON OF A BITCH!!"  
  
"Son of a bitch," dread guy said. "Oh now I'm a sonuvabitch! Sonuvabitch. Sonuvabitch?"  
  
The guy with dreads then popped off two rounds at Fagila. She just grinned wider.  
  
"Well," Fagila growled. "Now that you see that bullets cannot harm me, what will you do?"  
  
The guy stared at his pistol and holstered it, sighing angrily. The Scouts heard him mutter, "Sonuvabitch," again. He then pulled a knife and waved the blade. The Scouts just groaned.   
  
"Now you'll see what this sonuvabitch can do," dread guy said.  
  
"NO, DUDE! DON'T!" the braided man said.  
  
"Shut up, Pyrone," dread said back. "I'm doin' it."  
  
"You really shouldn't," the blonde said.  
  
"Why not?" dread asked. "They need help, so why not?"  
  
"That isn't WISE," the braid boy said.  
  
"No," dread said. "This, my man, is REVENGE!!"  
  
With that, the dreaded one ran at Fagila attempting to slash at her. However, she moved and blasted him with an energy blast that sent him flying back into the left side of the entrance.  
  
"TRE! Are you okay?" braid boy asked.  
  
"Yeah, just peachy Duo," the one named Tre said. "Now you've pissed me off."  
  
"Good," Fagila mocked. "I don't care."  
  
"All right guys," Tre began, "let's give her a taste of her medicine."  
  
"But..." the Chinese guy said.  
  
"What about hiding them in a safe place from prying eyes?" the blonde asked.  
  
"These girls won't tell, anyone, right?" Tre asked the Scouts. They shook their heads.  
  
"OK," Duo said, turning to the girls. "See ya later!"  
  
The seven young men ran off. Fagila just stared at them dumbly, then,  
  
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" Sailor Mercury said.  
  
The attack hit Fagila dead-on, but she just blocked it easily. Sailor Mercury was stunned that her strongest attack didn't work. Fagila just continued to stare after the long out of sight young men, confused. Then Sailor Neptune tried her attack.  
  
"Neptune Deep Reflection!"   
  
The mirror shot a beam at Fagila, who just laughed like she was enjoying it. Then, she fired a bolt at Sailor Neptune, knocking her down.  
  
"Don't tickle me!" Fagila shouted.  
  
Just then, a tremor shook the ground. Fagila got a confused look on her face and looked toward the tremor's origin. More tremors shook the ground, causing the Scouts to lose their balance. The tremors were becoming more intense, then Jupiter shouted,  
  
"EARTHQUAKE!"  
  
"No, it isn't an earthquake!" Sailor Pluto yelled over the rumbling.  
  
Then, above the treetops were seven large robots, all varying in colors and sizes. Several had wings that looked quite real, while two of them looked very familiar to the Scouts.  
  
"It's DreadScythe!" Sailor Venus shouted.  
  
"And Backlash," Sailor Pluto said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So," Duo said over the comm. "This is when we get some action, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," Tre said. "That blue ho really pissed me off."  
  
"Tre," Quatre said. "I'll defend the girls, OK?"  
  
"Sure thing, Quatre," Tre said.  
  
Out of his right viewscreen, Tre watched the Sandrock move over the Scouts and crouch down to protect them. But the girls just scattered everywhere. Quatre flipped on his loudspeakers and said,  
  
"Please, don't be frightened. I just want to defend you from the blast."  
  
As if on cue, DreadScythe drew its large beam rifle and held the gun vertical, against the right side of the Gundam. It slowly squeezed the trigger and the rifle started to charge. Then, it extended, the excess energy being dispersed in a spin. DreadScythe lowered the gun's barrel to Fagila, who was too scared to move. Then, DreadScythe squeezed the trigger all the way. The gun recoiled slightly and a loud explosive sound, like an atomic bomb going off, shocked the city cracking windows and setting off car alarms, while a bright golden beam of energy obliviated anything in its path, including Fagila. Sandrock was skidding backwards, very slowly, from the force of the blast. Its shield was protecting the Scouts and the wind was blowing the girls hair everywhere, all the while the girls were screaming. The wide bright beam completely vaporized Fagila and left a huge crater in the stage area of the park.  
  
"Ah, shit," Duo groaned.  
  
"Uh-oh," Tre said.  
  
"Holy mother of God," Pyrone laughed.  
  
"That's definitely bad news," Trowa said.  
  
"Oh no," Quatre said.  
  
"Way to go, Young," Wufei said.  
  
"Uh, oops?" Tre said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What happened?" Eternal Sailor Moon asked.  
  
"I don't know," Sailor Uranus answered.  
  
"It was a destructive beam," Sailor Pluto answered.  
  
The shield of the Gundam above the Scouts lifted and the group stepped out to inspect the damage. All gasped at the crater left in the stage and seating area. Wisps of smoke as thick as pythons rose from different places in the blackened crater. A small mass of blue lied at the bottom of the crater. It was clear that Fagila was taken care of...permanently.   
  
The robots kept swiveling their heads from side to side, looking at each other. Each time they did, the Scouts only wondered what the pilots were saying and moreover, who the pilots were. Eternal Sailor Moon turned to Sailor Pluto and said,  
  
"Those are Gundams, right?"  
  
"Yes," Sailor Pluto answered. "Those are Gundams."  
  
The blue Gundam with guns for arms was staring at the Scouts an awful lot, especially at Neptune. Then, DreadScythe spoke in its human voice again.  
  
"Hey, Heavyarms."  
  
The blue suit looked to DreadScythe, "What?"   
  
"Why are you looking at them all the time?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Let's get going."  
  
The Gundams all crouched then jumped into the air, firing their rockets as they became airborne.  
  
  
  
'That guy, his voice sounds familiar,' Venus kept thinking to herself. 'I know that the pilot of DreadScythe sounds like him, maybe even is him, but it's from another place, or time. I just wish I knew.'  
  
As if on cue, DreadScythe stopped in mid air and flew back down to the Scouts. None of the other Gundams knew what he was doing, but they had to get out of the atmosphere. DreadScythe slowed its descent and touched down only three feet from the Scouts. Then the a door on the Gundam opened and a guy rode down a cable to the group.  
  
It was the guy with the dreads, Tre. He hopped off the cable when it reached the ground and strode over to the Scouts, smirking.   
  
"In case you don't know who I am," Tre started, "that means I am keeping my identity clean and safe."  
  
"Then won't you tell us who you are?" Luna asked.  
  
"Well, well, well," Tre laughed. "A talking cat."  
  
"I'll have you know that I am Luna, Royal Adviser to Queen Serenity and now I'm the   
  
Royal Adviser to Neo Queen Serenity."  
  
"Well, whoop-dee-fuckin'-doo," Tre scoffed.  
  
"Hey! Don't be so mean to Luna!" Sailor Moon yelled.  
  
"OK," Tre said. "But I'll have you know that I am the protector of the protectors."  
  
"And who is that?" Sailor Uranus asked.  
  
"That's all the clues I can give today, sorry," Tre said. "Oh, and Pluto!"  
  
Pluto looked up, "Yes?"  
  
"Be sure to tell them who I am later," Tre said walking away. "If you want."  
  
He hopped onto the cable and rode back up to the platform that was the door. It closed and the eyes of the Gundam lit up. It walked away from the Scouts and then it shot off into the night. 


	17. Gundam Pilots meet Sailor Scouts

Chapter 17 - Gundam Pilots meet Sailor Scouts  
  
It was the next day after the Scouts had seen all seven Gundams last night. They were amazed to say the least to have seen such impressive machines. But the problem remained of finding out who the pilots were. The girls had their suspicions of the seven young men in the park last night, but they couldn't be very sure about that. But they knew that Tre was pilot of DreadScythe (not a very hard conclusion to make for us smart folks). Instead, the five Inners, plus Michelle and Trista all decided to go shopping. It was time to get some new clothes anyway.  
  
Lita picked the others up in her forest green Infinity sedan and drove to them all to the mall. They had trouble finding a parking spot, since it was so crowded. When they finally found a spot, they would have to make a long walk to the entrance.  
  
Lita was dressed nicely in a long, sleeveless kimono that was dark forest green in color with gold embroidery snaking its way across the outfit. From her neck down to her feet; her shoulders bare. As she always was more developed than the others were, her firm bust swelled underneath her kimono. She wore green flat-heeled slip-on shoes and little sugar pink rose earrings. She coated her luscious lips in a pale green lipstick and her brown hair was brushed into a neat, however, wavy ponytail.   
  
Mina wore a very short sleeved pink shirt, showing a lot of her mid-riff due to her years of physical development, (also, she tucked the loose part of the shirt under her bust) and a pair of very short jean shorts. So short, that part of her cute, firm tush was showing on both sides. She had some shiny orange lipstick on and heart-shaped dangling earrings. Her long blonde hair hung to her knees now, and her trademark red bow was tied in her silky golden tresses. Finally, she wore a pair of white lace-up, platform shoes.  
  
  
  
Amy always dressed well. She wore her white long sleeve button shirt topped by a dark blue vest. Her brown shorts went down to the middle of her thighs and her white socks and brown boots covering her feet. Her black choker with gold ornament hanging from it was around her neck. Her short blue hair remained short and blue, like always, and blue lipstick.  
  
Raye came today in her large red tank, which covered her body nicely, hugging her curves and conforming around her firm bust; rather pleasing to the male eye. She also wore short khaki hiking shorts. She had a red lip gloss coating her lips. She had on a pair of black, high-heeled Sketchers boots and her purple-black hair was pleated nicely into several long braids, her bangs hung down the sides of her face.  
  
Finally, Serena. She was decked out in a white baby doll shirt with a bunny on it, a ball of cotton where the tail was. Now that Serena was a blossoming 18-year-old girl, like her friends she was currently walking with, her bustline had increased keeping her shirt hem above her navel. Her golden blonde hair done up in its twin buns with the excess hair streaming down to her shin. Her black shorts came higher than Amy's shorts on her supple thighs. Fitting around her entire lower leg were a pair of black lace-up boots. Finally, a thin coat of shining pastel pink lipstick accented her lips and her from her ears hung little earrings with crescents on them.  
  
"Where should we check for Trista and Michelle?" Mina asked suddenly.  
  
"The clothes store, of course," Raye said. "That's what we're here for."  
  
"But..." Serena started.  
  
"What?" the rest of the girls asked.  
  
"I'm hungry!" Serena said, holding her smooth belly.  
  
The girls groaned and fell over...anime style!  
  
"Is food all you think about, meatball head?" Raye yelled.  
  
"Kind of," Serena said, meekly.  
  
Raye sighed and pulled Serena to the rest of the group. They walked on to the entrance, stopped to compose themselves, (adjusting their breasts, pulling up their shorts, you know...) and opened the doors. The five walked in, smiling confidently. Several people, ranging from all ages of men and women looked at the teenaged girls. A pair of teenaged guys looked at the girls mouths hanging open and eyes bugging out. Mina looked over at them and waved with her fingers. One of them knocked a display of ties over, everyone laughed. Then the girls walked on to the clothing store.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"How the Hell are we going to get my car to the Earth without the engine block cracking, the coolant freezing, or the whole vehicle busting from the below freezing environment of outer space?" Tre said to his team.  
  
"We could wrap it in a small pod or something," Duo said.  
  
"We don't have a small pod," Tre said.  
  
"Try this," Pyrone said. "We feed a course to the shuttle's computer that will make it fly into the atmosphere. Then we get in our Gundams, grab the car and the bike, let the shuttle fly out to its orbit, and we land safely, with the car and bike, on Earth."  
  
"Sounds good," Tre said. "But someone will have to ride with me on my bike."  
  
No one said anything, then,  
  
"I don't mind in the least," Quatre said.  
  
"Good," Tre said. "But you are holding onto my shoulders, got it?"  
  
"Yeah," Quatre said.  
  
"All right, get dressed for a trip to the mall, guys," Tre said.  
  
The pilots looked quite cool in their civilian clothes. In fact, they hardly looked like they were from the future. Of course, Tre had to don out the threads since the other pilots had only what they wore on their backs at the time.  
  
Heero wore an extra large, short sleeve, black button-up collared shirt and a pair of baggy denim jeans. He capped his head with a black bandanna that Tre had lent him, and a pair of black Adidas shell toes.  
  
Duo had a black T-shirt that had a white outline of a European dragon. His lower half was clothed in black jean shorts that hemmed near his knees. Finally, white ankle socks covered by black cross trainer shoes.  
  
Trowa wore a short sleeve plaid button shirt open over his yellow T-shirt. His sunglasses had green lenses and silver frames. On his lower half was a pair of khaki carpenter pants with many pockets and shoes were a pair of black Vans.  
  
Quatre was the only one who went as he dressed all the time. He wore his pale pink shirt and purple vest over that. His dark khaki dress pants descended down his legs to his brown dress shoes. But, Quatre did wear a gray bucket hat that Pyrone lent him.  
  
Wufei went in his white martial arts uniform. The top covered his arms and hung to his thighs while the pants started at his waist and went to his ankles. From there, it was his white silken stockings and his black shoes. Underneath the top was Wufei's blue tank.   
  
Tre wore a loose black T-shirt with the blue-outlined puke green letters of KoRN written across the chest. On the back was a cartoon drawing of the members with their hairstyles and clothes but their skin was wrapped mumy style. Tre's muscular arms hung at his sides, silver ring on his right-hand thumb, a pleated black bracelet on his left wrist. A pair of loose dark green shorts with orange elastic drawstrings at the cuffs, which hung below his knees. The low white socks popped over the tops of black Adidas shell toe shoes.  
  
Finally, Pyrone was dressed like Mr. Clean...literally. His white undershirt was all that covered the bulging muscles of his torso, then his baggy denim jeans drooped over his black Steel Toe boots. His black braids hung around his chest, down the top of his back, and would snake on his shoulders. The guy really did look like Brian "Head" Welch, especially with that goatee of his.  
  
"All right, guys," Tre said. "Let's get going."  
  
The pilots all went to their respective Gundams and let the shuttle do the flying. Every pilot strapped themselves into their Gundams's cockpits and activated their machines. The viewscreens of each showed the innards of the pods they were kept in while reentry was taking place. Tre snapped on some music, his cockpit flooded with the crashes of symbols and the roar of distorted guitars and heavy bass (like Staind's Mudshovel).   
  
The shuttle had finally breached the atmosphere and the Gundams left their pods. DreadScythe flew to the underside of the shuttle to the opened cargo hold. Waiting on the ramp were the car and the jetbike. DreadScythe picked the two vehicles up and the ramp started to close. Once DreadScythe had taken the two vehicles, the shuttle pitched upward, headed back to space. The seven Gundams just free-fell to Earth for a bit. DreadScythe fired its rockets first, slowing its descent as it neared 5000 feet altitude. It's speed dramatically slowed as the rockets thrust power overcame the force of gravity. DreadScythe had kept an easy but firm grip on the two vehicles of its pilot. DreadScythe easily landed and set the two vehicles down on the nearby road. It then kneeled below the tree line and drooped its head, powering down.  
  
The rest of the Gundams had arrived and done the same as DreadScythe had. Tre got out of the cockpit and walked to his jetbike. His gloves were in the side compartment of the bike and his helmet was currently in his left arm. He walked to the jetbike and swung his left leg over the vehicle. Quatre got on behind Tre and placed a black helmet identical to Tre's on his head. Tre fitted his gloves and placed the helmet on his head. He punched a few keys on the small pad near the handlebars then kick started his bike, revving the jet engine to full afterburner. The bright orange funnel lashed out from the exhaust nozzle. The car was going to be driven by Pyrone this time, Trowa was the front passenger.   
  
"You know where you going?" Tre asked, pulling up beside the car.  
  
"No, I don't know where I goes," Pyrone said, starting the car.  
  
"Follow me," Tre said, flipping his visor down. "And stop using bad grammar!"  
  
"Yes, mother," Pyrone smiled.  
  
Tre twisted the throttle full back, speeding away. Pyrone put the pedal to the metal, peeling out and shifting into second. Tre was going rather fast and was weaving in and out of cars effortlessly. Pyrone was having more trouble, due to the fact that he might have to stop quickly and downshift. He was weaving though, and was at least ten feet behind Tre at the time. The car's engine growled, its pitch went higher as the engine revved higher. Pyrone was in fourth gear and wasn't even going to shift into fifth with this traffic. Tre was getting slower as well, the traffic density was unbelievable for two o' clock in the afternoon. Tre had finally managed to get over to take a shortcut, followed by Pyrone. The two were screaming down an alley and had popped out onto a relatively clear street. Tre and Pyrone rode hard and fast to the mall.   
  
They had finally made it, but they still had to find a parking spot. Tre pulled in next to a forest green Infinity sedan and had parked the bike perpendicular to the spot so Pyrone could pull into the same spot with the car. Tre had taken his gloves and his helmet off, placing the helmet on the seat of the bike and the gloves in their compartment. The black car pulled into the spot at a high speed and stopped centimeters from Tre and Quatre's legs. The growling engine was shut down and the doors opened. Pyrone and Trowa both pushed the seatback forward to let Heero, Duo and Wufei get out of the car. Pyrone shut his door and Heero shut the passenger door. All seven walked to the entrance abreast. They looked like high school buddies from America than from Japan, save for Wufei who looked like a Chinese fighter. They all walked through the doors and walked through the store getting shocked looks from shoppers around them. They took an escalator up to the second floor of the mall.  
  
"There's a music store up here that let's you play with the instruments," Tre informed. "So I figured we could loosen up a bit and jam."  
  
"Do they have a drum kit?" Duo asked with interest.  
  
"Yeah," Tre said. "You drum?"   
  
"I started it a year ago," Duo said.  
  
"Cool," Tre responded. "Anyone else play an instrument?"   
  
Heero answered, "I learned to play a few tunes on the guitar."  
  
"Oh really?" Wufei said. "Funny you should mention that, Yuy."  
  
"Why, Wufei?" Heero asked.  
  
"I play the guitar as well," Wufei said.  
  
"Huh," Tre said. "Well, let's go in."  
  
They stood in front of a large store with a full drum kit, a couple of five-string basses, three seven-string guitars, and two microphones stood on a raised platform (no coincidence, I swear). They were staring at the beautiful set-up when a clerk approached them.  
  
"Moshimoshi," the clerk said, bowing.  
  
"Huh?" Duo said.  
  
"He said 'hello'," Heero informed his braided friend.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," the clerk said. "I didn't realize you all spoke English."  
  
"Yeah," Pyrone said. "No prob."  
  
"I see you're interested in our set-up," the clerk smiled.  
  
"This wouldn't happen to be a KoRN set up?" Tre asked. "It looks like an extra guitar and bass."  
  
"Well, a group just had a jam session and they had three guitarists, two bassists, and a drummer. So we set it up for them and they had just left an hour ago."  
  
The seven of them all got on the platform. Tre picked up a Universe seven string guitar and slung the strap around his back. Heero and Wufei did the same, Heero with an K-7 and Wufei the RG7621. Pyrone picked up the stained oil finished bass and Trowa picked up the grey nickel. Duo got behind the Tama drum kit and Quatre placd himself near the platform's second microphone. The clerk turned on the amps.  
  
Pyrone slapped the strings with his thumb and fiddled with the tuning, while Trowa tried to match Pyrone. Tre was pressing the pedals attached to the other end of the guitar's cord. He was seeing which one would give him the right distortion. Heero and Wufei were too busy tuning their guitars to a lower setting. Duo was smashing the cymbals and banging the snare drum. Tre moved to the free mic and brought it by his pedals.  
  
Duo said, "Everybody ready?"  
  
"Yeah!" came the chorus of deep voices.  
  
"Which song?" Duo asked.  
  
"Everyone know 'Freak On A Leash'?" Tre asked.  
  
"Yep," Heero and Wufei said.  
  
"I'll watch Pyrone for the changes," Trowa said, slapping the strings.  
  
"I know almost any song that was popular in the late twentieth-century," Duo said.  
  
"OK," Tre said. "Begin."  
  
Four clicks of Duo's sticks then Tre broke into a screaming high intro. Pyrone and Trowa slapping the strings, the low bass coming through the cabinets behind the players. Heero and Wufei accompanied Tre's intro with the distorted variants. Duo was keeping the bass beat and snare pop great, the high hat, too. Quatre stepped up to the mic and began the twisted poetry of the song. Then, when the pre-chorus part came, the whole band went crazy. Tre continued to sling the guitar while Quatre sang, then when Pyrone and Trowa slapped the strings loudly, the percussive sound of the strings against the pick-ups blasted their way out of the cabinets. Tre stepped up to the mic as Quatre emitted, "You'll never see me far from grace."  
  
Then all the percussive players bent over their instruments, beating the shit out of them. Trowa and Pyrone slapped the strings of the basses, getting all the percussive attacks as loud as possible. Duo beat the drumheads like cheap cardboard and smashed the cymbals as hard as he could. The guitarists were strumming the strings hard, getting that voluminous roar out of them. Tre yelled the lyrics out like a barking wolf,  
  
"Somethin' takes a/part of me! You and I were/meant to be! A cheap fuck for/me to lay! Somethin' takes a/part of me!"   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Ten minutes before-  
  
"Trista! Michelle!" Serena called, waving.  
  
The two older women waved back, smiling at the zeal of their princess, even after all she's been through. The two older women were in the same sort of outfits as the rest of the girls. Trista was wearing a black leather halter top and a matching leather skirt. She wore maroon lipstick and her feet had on pair of black shoes with straps below the ankles from the backs of the shoes going around the legs. Her green-black hair was done in a small bun at the top then the rest flowed to her knees.  
  
Michelle was wearing a low-cut aqua top with spaghetti straps and white short shorts. She had aqua-colored backless platform shoes on her feet and clear lip gloss on her lips.  
  
"So, where would you like to start?" Trista asked the girls.  
  
"I need a night gown," Serena stated. "I can't stand pajamas anymore, it isn't feminine enough for me."  
  
"Good idea!" Lita said. "I needed a new night gown myself."  
  
"I guess my pajamas could stand to be replaced," Amy said.  
  
"Off to the intimate apparel!" Mina shouted.  
  
The group walked to that part of the store and looked through all the colors, styles, and prices. They each picked out the same style night gown in their respective colors: Serena got white, Mina got orange, Amy got blue, Raye got red, Lita got forest green, Michelle got aqua, and Trista got black.  
  
After all the gowns were paid for and bagged, the group started to walk around the mall. Amy wanted to stop at the puzzle store to defend her title as chess champion. It was then that they found themselves on the second floor when they heard music coming from the opposite end of the floor. They wanted to know what it was, so they quickened their pace. They'd gotten halfway across the floor when the music intensified. The sounds were louder and more heavy sounding. They arrived at the source, finding themselves in front of the music dealer store.  
  
There on stage were the seven guys they saw last night at the park. Tre was playing a guitar and roaring something into the microphone; it didn't sound like anything but gibberish. Braids was bent over, holding up a bass and slapping at a string with his thumb. Duo was behind the drums, pumping out the beat of the song. The little blonde was head banging, two of the others were on the guitars, thrashing about, and the last of them was on the other bass.  
  
Then, Tre shouted, "GO!"  
  
The entire beat changed, the mix of the instruments was a heavy rock sound. A small mosh pit had formed in front of the stage and a crowd of people was gathering. After another minute, the song ended and the crowd cheered, calling for an encore so the group fired up another song.   
  
It seemed that Tre tried his best to emulate the sample of Static-X's sample at the beginning of 'This Is Not'. He then yelled into the mic,   
  
"This is not, this is not, this is not, I hate this!"  
  
The group just bent over again, some thrashing all over the platform. The volmuninous roar of the combined instruments was overpowering the small crowd, not to mention the pops of the snare and the booming bass drum and the crashing cymbals. It was giving the Scouts a reason to stand up and start dancing as best they could to the music, joining the small group at the front of the platform. The lead vocalist, Tre, was starting to emit the odd rhymes of the verses. He then broke into the chorus.  
  
"This is not my life! This is not my home! This is not me! I hate this!"  
  
He repeated it once more then just started the next verse a few seconds later. The heavy sound made by the bass and the low end guitar chords were shocking, to say the least, in their accuracy and overall quality. The young men played and "sang" until the end of the song. They then stopped playing and set the instruments back in their respective stands. All the while the crowd was cheering, roaring, and whistling. Near the back, the Scouts were all recovering from the initial shock of the amazing performance. As the seven boys dismounted the stage, they were getting pats on the back from the crowd and kisses from girls. A few tried to get autographs from the boys, however the group declined politely.  
  
As they walked toward the stairs, they passed the Scouts. Tre took a glance at them, smiled, and winked at Mina. Mina sighed and nearly fainted. The rest of the boys (save for Wufei) gave chuckles or grins to the Scouts (Duo flashed Lita his patented Maxwell grin), or a cross between a smug smile and a happy look (Pyrone looking at Trista). Trista was immediately found blushing and smiling meekly, like a little embarrassed kid. As the boys moved out of earshot and the crowd parting, the girls all looked at each other and began to chatter excitedly, but not Raye.  
  
"Did you see what Tre did?" Mina squealed. "He winked at ME!"  
  
"OH-MY-GOD!" Lita said, hysterically. "I think I'm in love! I've got my Prince Charming now!"  
  
"I don't see why you're so excited," Raye murmered.  
  
"My goodness, I think Tre was right after all," Trista muttered, smiling.   
  
Once the others heard that they stopped their chatter and stared at Trista. Trista, knowing full well the severity of what she just blurted out, went immediately red in the face. Michelle kept her mouth shut.  
  
"What do you mean Tre was right after all?" Serena querried.  
  
"Did he say something to you, Trista?" Lita wondered.  
  
"I'll bet that guy with the dark braids is interested in you," Raye said.  
  
"He does look kinda cute," Amy said.  
  
The rest of the group just laughed at this remark, save for Trista and Michelle. Amy was beginning to regret her remark however it did make Trista feel better.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The girls were starting to get very tired of Serena's insistant whining that they eat, so they made their way to the food court. Trista went to a small sushi hut and ordered twelve vegetable rolls plus a cup of miso soup and a green tea to drink. Michelle got herself a pint of shrimp lo mein from a Chinese restaurant and some iced tea to drink.  
  
Lita had bought a plate of shrimp tempora and a bottled water. Raye bought a bowl of noodles with chunks of various seafood meat. Amy had gotten a box of sweet and sour chicken with sweet and sour sauce with an apple juice. Serena had gotten many food orders. Serena had purchased two double cheeseburgers, one hot dog, a box of fries, a Bratwurst sausage, sauerkraut, a chicken burrito, a friut smoothie, and a root beer float. Mina had settled for a couple of slices of pizza and some soda.  
  
The girls had trouble finding a table large enough for all their food and Serena's. Luckily, they found one nearby that was just able to take seven more occupants. Seven boys they didn't recognize at first were all spread out around four small tables put right next to each other. As they approached, a familiar face spotted them from among the table's occupants.  
  
"Hey girls," Tre said, looking up. "Wanna join us?"  
  
The rest of the pilots all turned in their seats to look at the girls that had approached. Heero laid his eyes on Serena and thought, 'She's cute.' He then mentally punched himself. Tre sensed this and laughed mentally. Duo flashed his grin at Lita again, the latter blushing and smiling. Trowa and Michelle locked eyes, Michelle smiling. Trista and Pyrone exchanged stares for about ten seconds, then Trista said,  
  
"We would love to join you."  
  
At that, the girls sat down. Here's where they sat: Mina picked the seat next to Tre, Amy sat across from Quatre, Lita sat next to Duo, Trista picked the seat nearest Pyrone (who was sitting at the end of the table), Michelle sat across from Trowa, Serena smiled at Heero as she placed herself in the chair next to him. Raye reluctantly sat next to Wufei, the only open seat. The two just glared at each other, eating their food and not talking to anyone.  
  
"So may we ask your names?" Tre asked.  
  
"I'm Serena Tsukino," Serena gushed.  
  
"Amy Mizuno," Amy said.  
  
"Mina Aino," Mina cooed to Tre.  
  
"Lita Kino," Lita said.  
  
"Raye Hino," Raye said quickly.  
  
"Michelle Kaiou," Michelle said.  
  
"Trista Meiou," Trista said, studying Pyrone.  
  
"Pleased to meet all of you lovely ladies," Quatre started. "I am Quatre Raberba Winner."  
  
"Heero Yuy," Heero said flatly.  
  
"Duo Maxwell," Duo said, flashing his grin.  
  
"Trowa Barton," Trowa said calmly.  
  
"Wufei Chang," Wufei growled.  
  
"Tre Young," Tre said, much like Heero.  
  
"Pyrone Reigns," Pyrone said. "The pimp master."  
  
"Bullshit," Tre laughed. "Can the pimp master help Serena open Heero up?"  
  
"Nope," Pyrone replied.  
  
However, some social butterflies were starting to emerge from otherwise silent warriors. Trowa and Michelle, although their conversation was very quiet, couldn't seem to shut up. Serena was doing all the talking, desperately attempting to get Heero to open up. He remained silent save for a few responsive grunts. Trista and Pyrone were also having a conversation, Pyrone being slightly perverted and making Trista laugh. Tre and Mina rattled on about almost everything they could think of to talk about. Lita and Duo were the exact same way, but Lita had full control over Duo.  
  
"So Lita," Duo said, "what do you find most interesting about me?"  
  
"Do you like your braid, Duo?" Lita asked.  
  
"Why yes," Duo brightened. "Do you like it?"  
  
"If you want to lose it, then keep up your pathetic flirting routine," Lita said,   
  
smirking.  
  
"Shutting up," Duo squeaked, clutching his braid.  
  
"What don't you like about that kind of music?" Tre asked Mina.  
  
"Well," Mina started, thinking fast of a good excuse. "It just doesn't strike me as something worthwhile to listen to. Too much yelling and all it says is 'Life sucks, don't live it.' That's just how I interpret it."  
  
"Like listening to five guys who don't even write their own music, lyrics, or anything is something worthwhile?" Tre shot back.  
  
"It's not the guys it's the music that rea-"  
  
"Yeah right, Mina," Serena interrupted. "You fell head over heels for that Justin Timberlake at the *N Sync concert!"  
  
Tre was taking a swig of his beverage when Serena started her sentence, but it ended up cooming out of his nose when he heard that comment. The group just laughed at Tre's demise. Tre also laughed, in spite of himself. Pretty soon, everyone had finished their meals and had disposed of their garbage. What was there left to do but go for a walk around the mall? So, the group of fourteen began to roam the inside of the mall.  
  
The rest of the afternoon and evening went smoothly. Amy and Quatre were very absorbed in a conversation about their hobbies. Mina and Tre were discussing their dreams and goals (Mina's wanting to become a star and Tre wanting to become a rock star then fighter pilot). Raye and Wufei eventually softened their glares as they walked and started a very small conversation. Lita was in control of Duo all night, however she did talk to him quite a bit; Duo managed to overcome Lita's defense. Michelle and Trowa had begun to talk, they had conversed their whole lives to each other. Finally, Trista and Pyrone were both in stitches because of all the jokes and funny stories Pyrone was telling.  
  
As the mall came to closing time, the group made their way out of the front of the building and hung around the portico. Trista and Pyrone had found a vacant bench, sat down, and started making out. Everyone else were making cat calls and saying, "Get a room!" Pyrone responded by raising his right fist and extending his middle finger. Tre laughed, then stopped, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"Well, we had better get going," Lita announced. "Duo, it has been a lovely evening."  
  
"It was my pleasure, Lita dear," Duo said, putting on the charm.  
  
Then, without warning, Lita pecked him on the lips. Duo was taken aback to say the least. Lita seemed hurt by Duo's surprised reaction, but that soon changed into a look of pure bliss as Duo pulled Lita into a deep, passionate kiss. Pretty soon, Tre and Mina were next. He had placed his left hand on her cheek and locked lips with her, both closing their eyes in the deep bliss. Amy and Quatre, very innocent those two are, barely brushed lips when both blushed deeply and averted each others stares.  
  
"Well Heero," Serena sighed, dejected, "if you don't want to do anything I guess that's-"  
  
Serena was cut off by Heero's hand on her cheek. She raised her own and grasped his. Slowly, Heero leaned toward Serena, eyes closing. Serena closed her eyes and puckered her lips. Heero finally made contact, caressing Serena with his free hand. She released his hand and wrapped her arms around his firm, strong body. Wufei and Raye were the only ones besides Trowa and Michelle, but that was about to change. Both just stared at one another while behind Raye, Trowa and Michelle finally locked lips.  
  
"So what is it you want, onna?" Wufei scowled.  
  
"Nothing," Raye hissed.  
  
Wufei, going against all his morals on women said this, "Look (sigh) if it makes any difference at all...I-think-you-are-very-beautiful."  
  
Immediately, Raye's eyes softened. A slight smile started to grace her face and she threw her arms around Wufei. Wufei had a look of surprise on his face and just patted her head. Raye looked up and said,  
  
"I think you are very handsome. More so than any man I've ever met."  
  
Wufei's pride swelled and he even smiled. Then, he and Raye found themselves lost in a world of peace and bliss when there lips met.  
  
For the next few minutes, the guys and girls alike would release themselves from each to come up for air then would return to what they were involved in before. After about five minutes, the girls reluctantly said their goodbyes, leaving their numbers in the palms of each of the pilots. Then, the seven girls sauntered away, their hips swinging suggestively.  
  
All seven pilots, even Heero, had some form of a grin on their faces. Tre however, wasn't grinning. He looked down at the scrawled numbers for Mina's phone number. His fist clenched over the small scrap of paper. Tre's eyes narrowed to a menacing glare.  
  
"They're in trouble," he muttered.  
  
"Who?" Duo asked.  
  
"Them," Tre pointed to the girls.  
  
"What's going to happen, Tre?" Quatre sounded worried.  
  
"Haven't you all figured it out yet?" Tre said urgently.  
  
"Figured what out?" Heero responded. "That they're the Sailor Scouts? Of course."  
  
"Well at least I know that all of you aren't brain-dead," Tre said. "Look, I felt an evil and very sinister presence."  
  
"So we take it out with the Gundams like we did with that blue ho," Duo said.  
  
"No," Pyrone said. "It won't be that easy, will it?"  
  
"Not at all," Tre said. "The Gundams are no match for a presence like this, not even mine would have any effect on it. Also, that goes without saying, much less all of us combined wouldn't have much of an influence because it isn't a physical force; it's a magical one."   
  
"So what can we do?" Wufei said.  
  
"I will tail the Scouts to where ever they are planning to go and you guys just...I don't know, do something!"  
  
Tre then pulled the blade with his Scout insignia on it from his pocket. He opened the knife, checked to see if anyone was watching, and said the words that would transform him into Sailor Universe,  
  
"Universe Celestial Power!"  
  
The black lightning bolts protruded from the tip of the blade and enveloped Tre in their power. Soon, you couldn't see Tre at all, then he emerged as Sailor Universe. Universe produced a pair of black Oakleys from his pocket and placed them on. Turning to his crew, he said,  
  
"You all be careful when you get there."  
  
"We're going to tail you, right?" Duo asked.  
  
"Maybe," Universe responded. "Pyrone, you're taking my bike. Duo, you drive the car. Pyrone, give him the keys."  
  
Duo gave an excited whoop and jumped into the air, pumping his fist. Pyrone looked at Duo with wide, worried eyes and reluctantly handed over the keys. Duo snatched them like a greedy little kid and started to bolt toward the car.  
  
"DUO!" Sailor Universe yelled. Duo stopped dead where he was, his expression downcast.  
  
"What?" Duo whined, turning toward Sailor Universe.  
  
"You scratch my car and I swear to all that is holy that I will slit your throat!"  
  
"Understood," Duo said, eyes wide with terror.  
  
Then, Universe walked out from underneath the portico and jumped into the air, flying higher and higher. Suddenly, he flew toward the park.  
  
"Let's follow him!" Pyrone roared.  
  
The pilots didn't hesitate to get to the car and Pyrone was in a hurry to go help his friend.  
  
'Tre,' he thought. 'I swear to Christ, if you get yourself killed I'll damn your soul to Hell for all eternity.' 


	18. Hell Breaks Loose

Chapter 18 - Hell Breaks Loose  
  
"Trista," Michelle looked to her companion.   
  
"Yes, Michelle," Trista replied.  
  
"Why are we stopping here?"   
  
"There is a strong, sinister force resonanting from this area," Trista explained. "I feel it is our duty to try and supress it."  
  
"I hope you're not in over your head," Michelle sighed.  
  
"Don't worry," Trista said. "I have a good feeling about this."  
  
The two women got out of the silver 1996 Camaro SS (I LOVE that car!) and made their way to the center of the dark field. There, they were met by the five younger women. All the girls were set to transform, which they of course did.  
  
"Venus Crystal Power!"  
  
"Mercury Crystal Power!"  
  
"Mars Crystal Power!"  
  
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"  
  
"Moon Eternal Power!"  
  
"Neptune Crystal Power!"  
  
"Pluto Crystal Power!"  
  
The flashes of different colored light strobed into the dark area surrounding the field. The Sailor Scouts stood there and then two more figures joined the group. It was Sailor Uranus and Sailor Saturn. The two Scouts were smiling.  
  
"What are you so happy about, Amara?" Neptune asked coyly.  
  
"I was just watching your escapade at the mall," Uranus replied. "Hotaru came too."  
  
"Mama, I saw you and that guy," Saturn said. "I think you looked really happy with him."  
  
Pluto blushed at the thought of Pyrone, but she smiled none the less. The silence was broken by a strangled yell of a feminine voice. Luna and Artemis came bounding to the Scouts. Huffing and puffing, the two cats managed to choke out the news.  
  
"We've just received word from Queen Serenity that there is a disturbing evil here," Luna panted. The black cat sat on her haunches and rested while Artemis began the rest of the news.  
  
"Sailor Universe will join us tonight and so shall our allies."  
  
"What allies?" Mercury asked.  
  
"The six new allies we had been expecting along with Universe," Luna replied.  
  
"Oh," Sailor Moon replied.  
  
Suddenly, a deep cackle erupted from the night air, scaring the Scouts. A man with white skin and blue hair flowing to his shoulders came out of the shadows. He was wearing a black cloak and black boots, but his yellow eyes shone like the moon. He approached the Scouts slowly and silently. The Scouts cringed from his presence and huddled together. But the four Outers stood stoic and determined.  
  
"Greeting, Sailor Scouts," the man said. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect, the strongest force in all the Universe. You may call me Sven."  
  
"You might want to think that statement over, pal," another male voice penetrated the shadows.  
  
"Who's there?" Sven said, suspicious.  
  
Seeming to materialize from out of nowhere, a figure emerged from the darkness. His long trench coat billowed in the cool breeze. The sword and scythe staff strapped to his back swayed to and fro very lightly, clanking together. The black lenses of his glasses covered his eyes but his dreaded hair flew in his face and back again. Sven was most surprised. He hadn't felt a power this huge in eons. Luna and Artemis both gasped,  
  
"That's Sailor Universe!"  
  
"That's Sailor Universe?" the Inners chorused.  
  
"Yes," Sailor Pluto said. "That is the strongest of all the Sailor Scouts: Sailor Universe. Sailor Moon, this is the heir to the throne of the Universe and he watches over all of us and protects us with a power beyond our comprehension."  
  
"So he could easily have killed Chaos?" Sailor Moon asked.  
  
"Yes," Pluto answered. "His power could have taken out Chaos in an instant."  
  
"Then why didn't he show up earlier?" Sailor Moon screamed.  
  
"Time has some bumpy traffic," Sailor Universe replied. Sailor Pluto stifled a laugh.  
  
'I knew I recognized this power from somewhere,' Sven thought.  
  
"You think you have the strongest power in all the Universe?" Sailor Universe asked.  
  
"Yes," Sven sneered.  
  
"Don't you want to take that back?" Universe said.  
  
No answer from Sven except a smile.  
  
"Better check your memory," Universe said. "I think I asked you a question."  
  
"No," Sven said. "You merely made a statement saying I should recant mine."  
  
"Don't you challenge me, dammit," Universe said, pointing a threatening finger. "I'm itching to destroy something tonight and I'm feelin' kinda lucky right here."  
  
"One moment," Sven raised a finger. "I haven't fully prepared for the Scouts."  
  
As he finished his sentance, a flurry of green energy swirled about his body. His hair was flying everywhere and his mouth twisted into a snarl. Long, pointed fangs protruded from his maw, appearing dangerously sharp and menacing. Then, his body seemed to bulge against his clothing, beefing up for the battle he was about to begin. Soon the flurry stopped and everything sort of returned to normal.   
  
The Scouts gasped at his menacing appearance and huddled even closer. But the four Outers remained strong. Sailor Moon eventually came to realize this and stopped being afraid. She'd been through worse, so why be afraid?  
  
"Scouts," she said. "Let's take a stand."  
  
"Sailor Moon," Sailor Mars said shakily. "Can't you feel his power?"  
  
"Yes," Moon replied confidently. "However, we can at least take a stand against this overwhelming evil. When the scales of war hang in the balance, good will always prevail over evil, no matter the cost."  
  
"That's right," Sailor Universe said.  
  
He drew his sword and held it in front of him in defense. Sven looked at Sailor Universe and smiled.  
  
"You are the Scout of Shadow and Universal Knowledge, are you not?" he asked.  
  
"Huh? Yeah, I am," Sailor Universe said.  
  
"Then this should be a good fight. However, you must allow me to do one thing..."  
  
He opened his palm toward the Scouts and several glowing yellow cords shot out of it. They twisted their way around the group of Scouts, tying them all together. Then the surprised gasps of the Scouts were replaced with painful screams of agony as the cords shocked the Scouts with bright, jagged bolts of energy. The group fell to the ground, unconscious. Sailor Universe stood there in shock, then quickly regained his composure by taking a fighting stance.  
  
"I get it," Universe growled. "Take out my cheer squad."  
  
"I want this to be a fair fight," Sven said.  
  
"Fine," Universe said. "Then revive them."  
  
"What?"   
  
"You heard me."  
  
"Why should I do that?"  
  
"There aren't going to be any witnesses if one of us wins the fight, right?"  
  
"I see your point. It shall be done."  
  
Sven turned his palm to the unconscious Scouts and they all groaned and awoke. Sailor Universe was relieved that they were okay then turned to Sven.  
  
"Let's get this party started," he said.  
  
"Gladly," was the reply.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The squeal of tires echoed off the tall buildings of Tokyo. A black car slid around a corner followed closely by a black jetbike. Roaring down the street at over three hundred miles per hour, both vehicles were headed to the park once again.  
  
"Duo," Heero said calmly from the passenger seat.  
  
"What is it Heero?" Duo snarled, shifting into seventh gear.  
  
"What are you rushing for?"   
  
"In case you haven't noticed Heero," Duo started, shifting into eighth gear, "our friend is in trouble and we need to help him."  
  
"How? We are just humans without this so called 'magic' power. How in the name of Kami-sama are we going to help him?"  
  
"That's easy," a voice said over the radio.  
  
"Care to elaborate, Pyrone?" Trowa said from the back.  
  
"We distract whoever it is that Tre is fighting long enough for Tre to do some damage," Pyrone said. "Then, we high tail it the fuck out of there with Tre and the Scouts so we aren't killed in the midst of this battle."  
  
"How cowardly can humans be?" Quatre yelled over the roar of the car's engine. "What Pyrone is suggesting is the most cowardly tactic of all: sneaking up behind the enemy with a cheap shot."  
  
"Then what do you suggest, Quatre?" Wufei spat.  
  
"Let me think for a minute," Quatre said, worried.  
  
"Too late," Duo announced, "we're here."  
  
Both car and bike stopped rather quickly and came close to hitting the silver Camaro. The deep purr of the car engine and the hollow whine of the jet were cut off as both machines were shut down. The car's doors opened and the five young pilots exited while the older pilot dismounted the bike and removed the helmet. They all stared at each other when suddenly a chorus of screams broke the silent night.   
  
They turned their heads in the direction from where the screams originated and saw a bright glow illuminating the pained expressions of the Scouts' faces. Further in the distance, they saw Sailor Universe talking to some weird looking guy with pale skin.  
  
The six pilots were about to barrel in their without any thought of what to do when they were stopped by two cats.  
  
"What th-?" Heero was cut off.  
  
"Are you the Gundam pilots who have accompanied Sailor Universe?" the black cat spoke in a female voice.  
  
"Who wants to know?" Trowa asked suspiciously.  
  
"Yeah," Pyrone said.  
  
"We are the Royal Advisers to Neo Queen Serenity," the white cat said in a male voice.  
  
"I am Luna and this is Artemis," the black cat said.  
  
"Great, but you'll have to convince us better than that," Heero said, pulling a gun.  
  
"Heero, don't be a fucking close-minded soldier," Duo yelled. "Isn't two talking cats enough evidence for you?"  
  
"No," Heero said, cocking the hammer.  
  
The clicks of a shotgun being pumped were heard, then Pyrone leveled the weapon at Heero's temple, saying this, "Heero, now is not the time to be a prick. We can worry about the British spies in our time. But it is clear that there are no British spies here. So for Christ's sake, put-the-gun-down."  
  
Heero hesitated, then he carefully released the hammer to its safe position. Pyrone safetied his shotgun then replaced the weapon on the jetbike.  
  
"Thank you, Pyrone," Luna breathed.  
  
"No problem, Luna," Pyrone smiled.  
  
"Well, we have to get you six ready," Artemis said.  
  
"Ready for what?" Duo asked.  
  
"The fight, of course," Luna said. "There will be a woman appearing in front of you in a minute. That is Queen Serenity and she will instruct you on what you need to do. She will also supply you with your transformation tools."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Duo said, walking around and waving his arms like he were flagging somebody down. "We aren't going to be Sailor Scouts, are we?"  
  
"No, you used to be the Royal Guard during the Silver Millennium and you will be now," Luna said.  
  
"But, we didn't have powers, did we?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"You're going to transform into the Gundams that you pilot," Artemis said.  
  
"But miniaturized," Luna smiled.  
  
Just then, a heavenly figure with angel wings and all appeared in front of the pilots. The silver-haired woman was glowing brightly however she was still transparent. She smiled at the pilots and at the cats.  
  
"Your Highness," the two cats said at the same time.  
  
"Rise," the woman said.  
  
The cats did so, then the woman turned her focus to the pilots again.  
  
"It is good to see you all again."  
  
"Who are you?" Trowa said.  
  
"I am Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom," the woman answered. "Always the cautious type, Trowa."  
  
"Well, I didn't expect to see you in the flesh, Highness," Pyrone smirked.  
  
"Pyrone, always brash and sarcastic," Queen Serenity observed. "Very pleased to see you haven't lost that. However, I didn't come here to make small talk with you all. I came to give you your newest weapons in this war across time."  
  
In front of each pilot, a shimmer began to form. Then, they grew to the size of softballs. Within each globe of energy, a small, flat computer (much like a Palm Pilot) materialized. Pyrone touched his first. As soon as his hand made contact with the small device, the globe disappeared. He turned it sideways, upside-down, even shook it like a Christmas present still wrapped. Then he saw bright green letters type their way across the black screen, and as they appeared he read what it said.  
  
"Zero-seven?"  
  
Suddenly, several green lines snaked their way out of the screen and wrapped themselves around Pyrone's body like a design grid. Pyrone's face held a petrified look of fear before metal started to materialize around the lines. After about a ten second span, the transformation was over. A six-foot-six version of Backlash stood before the group. Then, the suit seemed to scream.  
  
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!? GET IT OFF ME!!"  
  
"Pyrone," Queen Serenity said. "Calm down, you aren't hurt and you won't be while armored by this suit. You must understand this."  
  
"Yeah, but..." Pyrone trailed off. "I get it, come on guys, it's okay!"  
  
The rest of the pilots took their small computers and read off what was written across the screens.  
  
"Zero!" Heero said.  
  
"Zero-two!" Duo smiled.  
  
"Zero-three!" Trowa said.  
  
"Zero-four!" Quatre exclaimed.  
  
"Zero-five!" Wufei bellowed.  
  
The five remaining young men were soon surrounded by their own patterns of green lines, then the metallic shells started to surround their bodies. Each emerged as a miniaturized version of their Gundam. The transformed pilots took a quick look at themselves, examining every side of their new...  
  
"Halloween costumes!" Backlash said.  
  
The others laughed, however seeing these serious-faced Gundam suits bobbing like they were laughing looked quite weird. Queen Serenity calmed down long enough to say,  
  
"No, Pyrone but that was just what I needed to brighten my day. Now listen carefully. Each of you has the power of your Gundams despite your size varies from the enormous machines you pilot."  
  
"So you're saying that we have the same power of our Gundams?" Deathscythe asked.  
  
"Absolutely," Queen Serenity answered.  
  
"Unreal," Heavyarms said.  
  
"Let's get going you guys," Sandrock said.  
  
"Right!" the rest chorused.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sailor Universe and Sven were locked in a ferocious battle. Sven sent energy blasts hurtling toward Universe every chance he got and Universe answered those attacks with his own. It did seem that Universe was losing this battle.  
  
Sven launched a barrage of green energy orbs hurtling toward Universe. Universe only had time to raise a black energy shield, which absorbed the offensive barrage. Universe crossed his free arm in front of his body in defense and a large, transparent shield appeared in front of his body. The energy from the offensive was flowing into his arm and through his body, mounting for a furious counter-offensive. He flexed his body with the absorbed energy, focusing it into a dense orb forming in the interlaced fingers of his hands. Then, he let it loose. The orb flew at sub-light speed, almost catching its target. However, it continued to fly past its intended target and curved into the air, where it detonated. The sky was alight with the intensity of an atom bomb explosion.  
  
"Scared?" Sailor Universe smirked.  
  
"Hardly," Sven replied. "However, I must commend your ability of energy absorption."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Welcome."  
  
Universe took flight while swinging his sword, grunting, throwing a disc of dark energy whizzing at Sven. The latter dodged the attack and performed several backsprings onto a lightpole. Universe leveled with Sven some thirty yards away. Then, Universe started to spiral in mid-air. Sparkling black lines traced the path the sword took through its spiral, then Universe shouted,  
  
"Universe Dark Vortex ANNIHILATION!!"  
  
The vortex Universe had conjured flew at Sven, sucking the target into its gaping top. The screams of agony were heard as Sven was squeezed by the high-pressure of the rotating winds and the ultra high voltage shocks he was receiving; this was one of Sailor Universe's more lethal attacks, but not his strongest. Universe flew headlong into it, knocking Sven out of its grip and attempting to slice him like sushi.  
  
Somehow, Sven managed to defend against every one of Universe's attacks. Sven, worried and exhausted, conjured a huge mallet to smash Universe. Sven put all his remaining might into swinging the huge mallet, which met its target. Universe was sent flying into a brick wall, knocking the barrier down. Getting up from the wreckage of bricks and cement, he muttered,  
  
"Okay, now I'm pissed!"  
  
He flew as fast as he could at Sven, dodging the arc of the mallet's path. He tackled the agent of darkness in the air and slammed him into the lightpole. Sven was obviously very hurt, because as soon as he dropped to the ground he could barely crawl. Purple blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth and from his bruised left eye. One of his fangs was knocked loose and deep cuts criss-crossed his beefed muscles. Universe was getting beaten up, too. His energy was being drained from all the attacks he had sent in offensive. He was standing though so he was still winning this battle. No apparent damage was seen on Universe, but he did have a trickle of blood seeping out the corner of his mouth.   
  
"You haven't won yet, Sailor Universe," Sven said groggily.  
  
"Wrong!" Universe said. "I've won this! You're hurt and barely able to move."  
  
"How disappointing!" Sven tutted. "I had thought you were more clairvoyent than this. Sadly, it seems you are not. Good-bye!"  
  
In a puff of white smoke, Sven disappeared.   
  
"Oh, Universe," Sven's voice cut throught the darkness.  
  
"What?" Universe snarled.  
  
"I will kill you now," Sven hissed. "You don't know where I am."  
  
"Fat chance," Universe said.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"The Scout of Shadow isn't stupid. This is a cheap trick you're pulling off to conceal yourself. I know exactly where you are and what you are about to do."  
  
"And we can see you in our scopes, too, asswipe!" Pyrone's voice cut through the air.  
  
"I have a lock," Heero's voice was heard. "Commence destruction!"  
  
"NO! WAIT!!" Sven's voice cracked with fear.  
  
"Too late for that!" Wufei's voice was heard as a miniature Neo Altron flew out of the trees, energy trident ablaze.  
  
The small Gundam swung at thin air it seemed, however, the weapon met its target and left a deep, bleeding purple wound open across Sven's chest. A golden beam lanced its way from the trees to Sven's beaten body; no doubt a mini-Zero had fired its weapon. Several other small Gundams appeared from the foliage to have their chance at the agent of darkness. Universe saw the small Heavyarms barreling ahead with its Gatlings blazing away; Deathscythe came out with its scythes swinging; Sandrock just slung its red-bladed sickles; finally, the Backlash fired both its shotguns in tandem. It was all out Hell on Earth; the sake of the Earth depended on one side's triumph over the forces of darkness.   
  
The scouts, still half-dazed, watched these armored suits battling Sven with triumphant intensity. Lancing their way through the air with blinding speed, they struck one at a time at rapid intervals. They showed no sign of letting up or fatigue, whereas the 'Dark Lord' was shaowing an expression of worry. He was outnumbered and outmatched, or so it seemed. He curled into a ball, then unleashed a blast of green energy that knocked the six suits askew.  
  
Sailor Universe was about to jump into the fight again, but he heard a voice summoning him in his mind. He recognized the voice as that of Queen Serenity's.  
  
'Sailor Universe, can you hear me?' the voice said.  
  
'Yes, your Highness,' Universe replied.  
  
'Disappear immediately and meet me at the entrance to the park.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'No time for questions, just do as I say.'  
  
Sailor Universe seemed to fade into a shadow-like form and disappear altogether.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Reappearing at the specified point, Sailor Universe saw the ghostly queen of the Silver Millennium. Universe bowed to one knee in respect of the queen.  
  
"Rise," Serenity said.  
  
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Universe asked, rising.  
  
"Obviously, you have witnessed the battle taking place with Sven and the small Gundams."  
  
"Yeah, what is that all about?"  
  
"Those are your friends. As the reincarnations of the Royal Guard, their duty is to defend the princesses of the Moon Kingdom...and you were the commander of the Royal Guard, meaning-"  
  
"Since I am a Gundam pilot like them, I will also be receiving the same sort of device to transform me into a smaller version of my Gundam, no doubt."  
  
"Precisely," Queen Serenity said, nodding.  
  
"One question: how is it they are doing any damage at all to a magical being while using physical weapons?" Universe asked.  
  
"Their weapons may resemble those of the physical world, however, they used magic to transform therefore their weapons use magic power to destroy their target."  
  
"Well, suit me up!" Universe said.  
  
The same shimmer appeared in front of Sailor Universe as his "Palm Pilot" formed inside. Universe touched it and held it above him, instinctively reciting the incantation,  
  
"Zero-six!"  
  
The green network of lines took their shape around Sailor Universe, formed into metal, then into the small suit of DreadScythe. But...  
  
"The golden tiara across the forehead of your suit signifies that you are still using your Sailor Scout powers in tandem with your suit powers."  
  
"So I am twice as lethal as I am in Scout mode?" Universe asked.  
  
"Yes," Queen Serenity said. "Good luck, Sailor Universe, and take good care of the Scouts in the future."  
  
With that, Queen Serenity disappeared and left the small DreadScythe to fly back to the battlefield.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh shit!" Deathscythe said, dodging another attack by Sven.  
  
Ever since Sailor Universe left the fight, Sven has been taking care of the suits. They were all so inexperienced at this magical fighting, so they weren't very proficient at it yet. Backlash and Heavyarms were sitting behind a fallen tree popping off their rounds at Sven. The latter was hit by several of Heavyarms's bullets and Backlash's blasts. But, it didn't stop him from sending a counter-offensive which took out half the tree's trunk.  
  
"You think we stand a chance, Quatre?" Backlash transmitted.  
  
"Not if we don't coordinate our attacks and make a plan," Sandrock answered, from his position, over halfway across the field.  
  
"Oh yeah! Great! Thanks for NOTHING!!" Backlash yelled, sarcastically.  
  
"How about this," Heavyarms said, firing some rounds. "We have a distraction from opposite sides of the field so he doesn't know which way to look and then the rest of us take him out."  
  
"Or we could do this," Tre's voice was heard.  
  
"Where are you, Tre?" Pyrone said, looking around through the eyes of his helmet.  
  
"Just look up," Tre said.  
  
Silouhetted against the moon was a dark figure, hovering above the battlefield. It drew an elongated shape from its right leg and pointed it toward Sven. A bright golden glow started to emit from the opening and the spirals at two points were dispersing the rest. Sven looked up just in time to see a bright beam headed right for him. Unfortunately, he dodged it at the last moment, letting his place become a crater.  
  
"Shit!" Tre exclaimed.  
  
The figure drew a staff and ignited the black energy of the blade. Then, it rocketed toward the earth, scythe held at ready to strike. Sven flew up to the figure, which came out of the moon's light to reveal...  
  
"Jesus, it's a small DreadScythe," Deathscythe said.  
  
Sven roared as he flew right in the DreadScythe's scythe. The lifeblood was draining from Sven's deepest wound and the fatal blow. Gagging up the purple fluid, the lord of darkness was fading fast, losing his very life. That's when the Scouts came to the ready shouting,  
  
"Get out of the way, or we might hurt you!"  
  
"Right!" DreadScythe screamed back. "All right, Gundams! Help the Scouts out with this bag of shit!"  
  
"Right!" the Gundams shouted back.  
  
All six of them took their place, while DreadScythe landed a knee blow to Sven's gut to keep the latter from getting up. The DreadScythe flew back to the group, drew its gun, and shouted,  
  
"NOW!"  
  
"Sailor Planet ATTACK!!" the Scouts shouted altogether.  
  
"Universe-DreadScythe Dimensional DEMOLITION!!" DreadScythe screamed, firing a twisted black-gold beam.  
  
The rest of the pilots also fired off their rounds: Zero fired the strongest beam from its beam rifle; Deathscythe gave it all the machine guns had; Heavyarms completely emptied its ammunition; Sandrock fired every last bullet from its machine guns; Altron used every beam it had from its tail stinger; and Backlash used all its shells in the shotguns. Sven's body was bombarded by the different attacks, breaking apart and vaporizing into thin air.  
  
The Scouts and the pilots had won. The battle was over...  
  
"But the war has just begun," Sailor Pluto said.  
  
"BULLSHIT!" Backlash roared. "We beat that fucker, plain and simple!"  
  
"Him, yes," Sailor Pluto responded calmly to the hotheaded Backlash. "But there are   
  
others that we must battle across time."  
  
"No," Deathscythe argued. "If we beat that sack of trash, then the rest of them won't try it."  
  
"Not so," Sailor Moon said. "We've had very persistent enemies that sent multiple enemies even after we beat the strongest."  
  
"THIS IS FUCKED!!" Backlash screamed, throwing its arms wildly into the air.  
  
"Backlash," DreadScythe said, seeming to glare his counterpart down, "haven't you and I fought many waves of enemies at one time?"  
  
"That was different, DreadScythe" Backlash huffed. "They were drunken humans, not magical fairies like that guy."  
  
"Well, you'll just have to get used to it," DreadScythe half-growled, "because we're going to be stuck here for a long time, it seems."  
  
"Why don't we get our thumbs out our asses, then," Backlash snarled.  
  
"Because we don't have what it takes to go home, yet," DreadScythe pointed out.  
  
"Oh, so your saying we aren't good enough, that it?" Backlash said, getting in DreadScythe's face with a thick, black metallic finger.  
  
"Don't you challenge me," DreadScythe threatened.  
  
"Please, you two, stop fighting!" Sailor Mars pleaded.  
  
"FUCK YOU!" Backlash yelled, back-handing her.  
  
As Sailor Mars fell to the ground, a silence fell over the group. DreadScythe looked from Backlash to Sailor Mars, unbelieving what had happened. The raven-haired Scout contacted the ground, in a world of hurt, while Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury came to her side. DreadScythe, with its long gun, swung the weapon like a baseball bat into Backlash's face. It contacted and the latter went into a twist in the air, faliing to the ground. Sailor Mars, near enough to do something, kicked the faceplate of Backlash.  
  
"YOU ASSHOLE!" Mars screamed, tears and blood running down her bruised cheek.  
  
At that same moment, Altron leaped on top of Backlash and started to punch the living daylights out of him. With wide crosses, Altron was having a serious effect. Backlash's faceplate was beginning to dent up and crumple. But, it didn't mean the 'parasite' was weakened by the barrage, for Backlash lanced out and knocked Altron off of him. Rising to its feet, Backlash charged the rest of the Gundams only to be charged back and tackled into a huge pile of metal suits. The Scouts were all begging for the fighting to stop, pleading and yelling at the Gundams to quit their childish fighting.  
  
It came down to this: Backlash pulled its scythe staff and beat Deathscythe up with it while using it to fend off the others. Then, Backlash shot Heavyarms (no, he didn't kill Trowa) sending the blue Gundam flying head over heels. After that, Altron got a taste of the scythe (again, no deaths) when his legs went out from under him. Sandrock and Backlash both grappled for a while until Zero thought he could some help by tackling the two only to have Backlash pin the two underneath Sandrocks sickles. Finally, DreadScythe and Backlash went head-to-head.  
  
"You aren't going to calm down, are you?" Dreadscythe asked.  
  
"FUCK NO!!" Backlash roared.  
  
"Fine," DreadScythe growled.  
  
DreadScythe fired its rockets to tackle Backlash, successful. But Backlash rolled the other over, then sprang both back onto their feet. The Gundams and Scouts encircled the two remaining fighters, one to make sure that they don't bring attention to what was taking place, and two to try and stop them from killing each other.  
  
Backlash, held back by three other Gundams and four Scouts, tried to throw a left cross but his arm was restrained by two of the Scouts (namely, Pluto and Neptune). DreadScythe tried to resist being held back by the remaining two Gundams and five Scouts, however, even he had trouble. The pleads of the pair's comrades was nearly deafening in the tight circle. Somehow, they both managed to pry themselves loose to try and choke the other. The grips on each's neck was somewhat like a gator locking its jaws on its prey. In order for the two to break apart, Uranus set off her World Shaking attack.  
  
It did accomplish the task, however, it was a bit too much. The rest of the group flew backwards from the intense blast. But did it keep the two from going back to killing each other? No...  
  
They both flew straight at each other, in a sort of mid-air tackle. There, they grappled until they hit the ground and were holding the other at gunpoint, yelling curses at each other. Then, DreadScythe let loose a volley of black orbs at Backlash from its hand. The latter rolled backwards a few yards with every orb that it contacted. DreadScythe stopped only until it was standing over Backlash with the gun aimed at the latter's face, and ready to fire.  
  
Breathing heavily, all sixteen soldiers just stopped. Dread and 'Lash looked straight at each other, not breaking that green glare. The golden tiara across Dread's forehead disappeared as it replaced the gun in its holster.  
  
"Our own worst enemy is ourselves," DreadScythe announced to the group.  
  
"Hmm," Sailor Pluto acknowledged. "The enemies within our own souls are the worst indeed."  
  
"Our pride gets in the way of our judgement and clouds our thinking," Sailor Mercury   
  
piped.  
  
"What have we become?" Zero sighed.  
  
"One things for sure," Deathscythe said.  
  
"What's that?" Sandrock asked.  
  
"We need to leave."  
  
"Let's go then," Altron said.  
  
"Fine with me," Backlash spat, standing.  
  
The seven suits flew off, blazing white trails of rockets shone brightly against their metallic armor. The Scouts had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time these suits would show up. Sailor Mars knew that for sure, and boy did she loathe that thought.  
  
"Until they unite amongst themselves," Queen Serenity said to no one in particular, "they won't be able to aid the Scouts in any way."  
  
So, how do you like that? It hurt me to put something like a back-hand slap to a Sailor Soldier, but I had to do something. Pyrone is the worst when it comes to losing his temper, ne? Anyway, tell me how well I'm doing and I'll start on some new stuff.  
  
-Static Scythe 


	19. Time's Broken Boundaries

Chapter 19 - Time's Broken Boundaries  
  
"HOW COULD YOU JUST LOOSE THEM SO EASILY?" the kings voice boomed over the loudspeakers in the mobile suit cruiser where Shawn was currently stationed after pursuing the Gundam shuttle. King Charles' purple face was taking up the entire screen on the cruisers flight deck. Shawn, still dressed in his spacesuit, tried to retell the events to his king.  
  
"Your majesty, you must understand-" Shawn attemted to explain.  
  
"ENOUGH! I'LL NOT LISTEN TO YOUR EXCUSES ANY LONGER!" the king bellowed. "You have acted out of British military regulations to supress a family feud you've set against this American pilot and his bloody friends. Honestly, if I weren't going to be your father-in-law, I'd-"  
  
"JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONE, BLOODY MINUTE YOU POMPOUS PRICK!" Shawn yelled back.  
  
The gasps and surprised reactions of all the crew members aboard the cruiser suddenly caused the flight deck to be very quiet. Shawn looked to and fro at all his subordinates.  
  
"What are you awl lukin' at?" Shawn snapped. (AN: Those aren't spelling errors, that's how I hear him talking)  
  
"How dare you put yourself before your king, you insolent little bastard," the king hissed. "You are demoted to ensign for that outburst!"  
  
"No, your majesty, surely-" Shawn fumbled, but to no avail.  
  
"Report home at once! Out!" the king said.  
  
The screen went blank, then Shawn slammed his fists on the console in front of him, cursing out loud every dirty word under the sun. Finally, after a jab that ultimately fried the circuits, he ended his tirade and just returned to his quarters.  
  
Once there, he pulled a picture of his fiancee out and lay on his bunk. Studying her seductive curves, he barely noticed the summon from the flight deck.  
  
"Ensign Chamberlin," the captain spoke.  
  
"What?" Shawn snarled, angry that he was addressed as such a low rank.  
  
"We have a report on the spot where the shuttle entered the Earth's atmosphere."  
  
"AND?"  
  
"Well, this is interesting, but it seems that there was a 'tear' in the very fabric of time that allowed them to go through to another time and possibly a new dimension."  
  
"Hmm," Shawn pondered this. "Excellent! Give my regards to the good doctor."  
  
"Affirmative, over and out."  
  
The captain disappeared from the screen by Shawn's bunk. Shawn was much too tired to be dealing with this news just now. It would be curfew soon and the soldiers all had to report to their quarters at that time. He really didn't feel like sleeping, though, his brain was going through a constant redux of what had taken place.  
  
-Flashback, Shawn's P.O.V.-  
  
Christ, if I'm not careful, I could wind up dead! The oncoming spray of bullets from that shuttle is sure to catch my suit if I make even one wrong move. Several of my escorts have already been taken out, most of them the manned suits...I knew that evasive maneuver seminar was bullshit, anyway. Several mobile dolls have also been damaged to a serious point, so they won't do much. Suddenly, the spray ceases, praise God! Now's the time to act, so I increase my suit's velocity to attack speed.  
  
However, by doing so, I have just placed myself into immediate danger. A wide, aqua beam was fired from the shuttle...I wonder how Tre managed to retro-fit his shuttle with such advanced weaponry! Or is it...no...it couldn't be!  
  
Earlier, as I was being released from the suit hangar on the cruiser, I saw a mobile suit jump from that smaller shuttle to the one we are currently pursuing. I had my doubts at first, but I think it might be a Gundam. And if my research assistant is correct, that shuttle was carrying the Reigns family. Sources also told me that Pyrone Reigns has been selected as a Gundam pilot of the most advanced technology seen next to the Wing Zero. However, I also heard that Tre Young was a Gundam pilot, and even his Gundam is more advanced than the Wing Zero could ever hope to be.   
  
Whatever is firing at me now, I don't want to get myself caught in the beam. I groan; the G forces are intense! They squeeze my body like a tube of toothpaste. I have to catch up to that shuttle. But then, a golden beam is fired.  
  
"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" I yell out to the remains of my battalion.  
  
The moment I yell out, I have to strain against the opposing pressure of my controls to dodge the blast. Incredible! I just saw it eat through a mobile doll's shield and vaporize it. How in the world can this be? What sort of technology are these mad scientists playing with?  
  
As I ponder this question, a scarlet beam races to my position. As I attempt to dodge this blast, I move too late and feel the awesome power of this beam's destructivity. My suit is getting very warm and is shaking uncontrollably. It's too hot! I'm suffocating on the very essence of life: heated oxygen. I see red all around me, the color floods my cockpit to the point of such intensity, that it seems impossible to see. Soon, the color fades and a horrible afterimage is produced. I see the faint green tint against a screen that reflects the outside environment of space. The cockpit seems to cool down a bit and I can check my damage.  
  
Damn! I lost an arm in the blast; my suit's usefulness has dropped dramatically. Now I have no choice but run these foolish idiots into the atmosphere at a speed higher than is possibly safe. But...I see another motion on the top of the shuttle and...no! It's that same, bloody Gundam I have confronted in over five different situations, including this one. Now I have two to deal with? Fine! Bring it on!  
  
I accelerate even more, to the highest speed obtainable in this suit. As I do, another spray of bullets is fired at me. I barely have time to look outside to see where the next bullet might be, so I just act without thinking. Looks as though my luck hasn't run out entirely, because I'm dodging all of them so far. Finally, the barrage ends and I can fly straight again. Suddenly, a wide beam gets to me before I can dodge it and again, I feel the intense heat and the violent vibration associated with it, only this time my cockpit is flooded with the golden light instead of the red. Soon, the beam dissipates and the cockpit cools down, then I come to find I have lost the other arm on my mobile suit. Then, I realize that if I continue to chase after them, I'll disintegrate in the heat of reentry. So I slam on the reverse thrusters and watch them speed away toward the atmosphere...hoping that they'll skip right off the atmosphere and die.  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
It seemed so surreal to Shawn that he was nearly deafeated and had lost track of a huge spacecraft containing such cargo that could easily overrun the British Mobile Suit Division. Shawn suddenly felt very guilty, like he had signed every British officer's death warrant. Sighing, he rose from his bunk and returned to the flight deck. It seems the captain was going to enter the same point that the pursued shuttle did in the atmosphere to see where it took them.  
  
"I'm going against my better judgement here, Shawn," the captain said.  
  
"I understand," Shawn said. "If an inquiry arises, I'll tell them it was my idea."  
  
"But your in enough shit already!" the captain blurted.  
  
"Harry, I know," Shawn soothed. "But you have a wife and four great kids to support. You haven't had one infraction on your record so you don't need to have one on there. Trust me, letting me take the fall would be a much better option."  
  
"Right then," Capt. Harry said.  
  
The captain accelerated the large craft to enter the atmosphere. As it penetrated the outermost layer of the exosphere, accompanied by the loud boom, a flash of white surrounded the craft and soon the red glow enveloped it. Violent vibrations were shaking the ship as it rammed into the air molecules, which became more and more dense as it passes through each layer of the atmosphere in descending order. Finally, it reached an altitude achieved only by the U-2.  
  
"Navigation reports are in," a technician shouted.  
  
"We are currently flying above Tokyo, Japan," the captain said.  
  
"Tokyo, Japan, huh?" Shawn mused.  
  
"The sensors are taking a reading of the city, now," the same technician announced.  
  
"And what have we today?" Shawn asked.  
  
"Sir, I'm not sure these are correct."  
  
"What do they say, private?"  
  
"They indicate the population is exact to that of the A.D. 1998 census calculations."  
  
"Incredible!" Shawn breathed. "We've gone back over many centuries!"  
  
"We can deploy suits immediately, if you would like, sir!" an ensign said.  
  
"No, not another suit battle!" Shawn said. "Let's send a squadron down to hunt for them and we might get lucky. The last thing we want at the moment is to bring attention to ourselves."  
  
"Sir!" the ensign saluted and left.  
  
"What do you suppose you're going to do on Earth?" Capt. Harry asked.  
  
"Probably stake out at a public place and hope they come," Shawn replied.  
  
"Good plan," Harry said.  
  
"Just be ready to release the troop pod, okay?"  
  
"Sir!"  
  
Shawn quickly went to his quarters to change out of his spacesuit. Floating out of his quarters in his red uniform, Shawn raced to the pod and took his seat. The restraint came over his head and shoulders and settled on the latter, also going across his abdomen. The hatch slid shut, then Shawn began his briefing.  
  
"Right, then! Listen up, men!" he shouted. "We are looking for these seven pilots! Our mission is to seek-and-destroy, do not leave one living, understood?"  
  
The soldiers all shouted their reply of, "Yes sir!" On several screens scattered about the cabin, the faces of seven young men flashed into view. As Shawn said each name, that picture stood out in the foreground.  
  
"First is Heero Yuy, our codename for him on this mission is zebra. Although his appearence suggests a weak teenager, he is a lethal force who has killed an OZ officer not too long ago in his L1 colony. Exercise extreme caution.  
  
"Next is Duo Maxwell, codename is dingo. His main characteristic is his meter-long braid, which allows him to stand out in crowds, so he will be an easy target.  
  
"Trowa Barton, codename heron. Like zebra, heron is quick and lethal, however, heron apparently has more stealth than does zebra, according to our (AN: false) records. Still, exercise extreme caution around both.   
  
"Quatre Winner, codename serpent. This boy is cunning and very brilliant in battlefield tactics. With surprising silence, he is able to subdue a soldier in no time at all. Again, exercise caution.  
  
"Wufei Chang, codename alligator. The only one of the group whom has mastered the martial arts of the Chinese in the highest degree of his age. Do not underestimate his force for even a second, gentlemen.  
  
"Tre Young, codename dove. One of the most dangerous and prominent of the group, dove here can easily kill all of us between close-range and long-range, so please observe the highest degree of caution and alertness you can muster with this one.  
  
"Finally, Pyrone Reigns, codename bear. The second of the most dangerous and prominent, he is also capable of killing us all at close-range and long-range if need be. Please gentlemen, do take care.  
  
"You will be equipped with MSCZRD-13s (AN: super destructive machine guns) and ten ammo clips; that's 7,000 extra rounds, boys. I expect you all to use it wisely and not waste it."  
  
A green light flashed in the cabin and the restraints undid themselves. The men unloaded the pod on the roof of the mall, pointing their MSCZRD-13s every which way, sweeping their view for intruders who might botch the mission. Little did they know what was in store for them.  
  
The pod lifted away from the roof as the team entered the roof door and got inside the mall. They split into two groups, one for each floor, then scattered around the mall.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Jesus Christ!" Tre yelled out loud to his friend. "What the fuck were you thinking Pyrone?"  
  
"The same thing I always think when I'm pissed off!" Pyrone roared.  
  
"YOU NEED TO CONTROL YOUR FUCKING TEMPER!!" Tre bellowed.  
  
"YOU CAN SUCK MY BIG, FAT COCK!!" Pyrone barked back.  
  
"Please, stop!" Quatre intervened. "We're suppossed to be a team, right?"  
  
"How can we be a team when one of us decide's to lose his temper because he thought we won a whole fucking war when we didn't?" Tre sneered.  
  
"Don't you start with me, Phantom!" Pyrone shouted.  
  
The rest of the pilots didn't know what that meant, but Pyrone had obviously said something that cut deep into Tre. Tre had paused, finger pointed at Pyrone, with a look of hurt and disgust on his face. Then, his face changed into a sad scowl as he lowered his arm. Tears welled up in Tre's eyes as he said,  
  
"How could you?"  
  
"Tre, I'm sorry, that was low, dude," Pyrone said, very remorseful.  
  
"HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU?" Tre bawled, tears streaking down his face.  
  
"Tre, I know that was low, I'm sorry-" Pyrone was cut off.   
  
Tre, full of rage, gave an almighty roar and Pyrone was caught off guard by a right-cross thrown right in his face by Tre. Pyrone staggered backwards, when Tre pounced on him. Like a roaring animal, Tre was using Pyrone like a carcass to tear into. It took almost a minute for the five other pilots to wrench Tre off of Pyrone. Even still, Tre was still teary-eyed and angry. Pyrone was hurt, no doubt, by the harsh coughs he heaved and his inability to stand on two feet. Tre had cracked a rib, but only to a hairline fracture.  
  
"You asshole!" Tre yelled.  
  
"I deserved that," Pyrone wheezed, then coughed.  
  
"Why the fuck did you have to bring her up again?" Tre screamed. "Why?"  
  
"It was a low-blow tactic that I shouldn't have used, and I'm so sorry," Pyrone said.  
  
"I know this may not be a good time to be asking this," Trowa started, "but who are we talking about when we say 'her'?"  
  
"You want me to tell them?" Pyrone said.  
  
"No," Tre sniffed. "I'll tell them. Heero, you already know most of this, so it isn't any surprise to you."  
  
"Yeah," Heero responded, coldly.  
  
"OK, here goes," Tre sighed. "In the year After Colony one-nine-four, I had taken my Gundam out for a test flight that day, thinking I could impress my girlfriend when I   
  
would take her home that day and we would fuck. But, as I went to go get it, three Leos invaded my colony and I got into a fight with them. As I destroyed the last one, it shot off a round from its rifle as the upper torso contacted the ground, and...she got hit by that round."  
  
Duo gasped and Quatre simply said, "That's sad."  
  
"That is why Tre is known as the Phantom of A.C. 194," Pyrone said. "Only we know that now; nobody else knows him by that name."  
  
"And that's why I turned out more heartless than relaxed," Tre sniffed.  
  
"Also why you're more of a soldier than a pilot," Trowa observed.  
  
"Yes," Tre nodded.  
  
"Come here, bro," Pyrone said, opening his arms.  
  
Tre accepted, embracing Pyrone like a brother. The younger man just let go, sobbing like an abandoned child in a dark alley. Tre just let all the hurt, confusion, and anger out when he was crying. Pyrone patted his frined's head, muttering comforting words into his ear. After about ten minutes, Tre lifted himself off Pyrone and dried his eyes, giving a huge sniff to draw back the loose snot. Pyrone took a look at his shoulder, then made a funny face.  
  
"Ewwwww," Pyrone mocked a child. "Youse gots boogers on me arm!"  
  
Tre laughed, in spite of what he did. The other pilots were glad to see Tre in order, now that he and Pyrone were cool again.   
  
Heero even dared to crack a smile; it seems that his time around his friends was thawing the cold shell around his heart, not to mention a certain someone. Relena may have been in love with Heero, but he just felt empty when he was with her. Serena seemed to be the perfect girl for him. With time, she could dissolve his cold soldier mentality with her warm exuberance. It seemed like all was well again, but-  
  
"AH SHIT!" Wufei yelled.  
  
"What?" Duo asked. "What is it, Wu-man?"  
  
"I left my wallet back at the mall!" Wufei exclaimed.  
  
"That sucks," Pyrone muttered.  
  
"We have to go get it," Wufei said.  
  
"How? The mall is closed, the security system is on-" Duo was cut off.  
  
"To keep out any suspicious characters," Tre uttered.  
  
"You want to break into the mall to get Wu-man's wallet?" Duo asked, panic-striken.  
  
"Sure," Tre said, standing. "I could use some excitement."  
  
"You're nuts!" Duo screamed.  
  
"Maybe," Pyrone said. "But losing your wallet is no laughing matter."  
  
"All right, let's go back!" Tre said, transforming into Sailor Universe.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-At the mall-  
  
"Whoa!" Duo commented. "This place is deserted!"  
  
The entire parking lot was, for the most part, empty. A few cars remained, for they were either: 1) broken down, or 2)they weren't towed away yet. The orange glow of the parking lot lights spread over the bare spaces like a blanket.   
  
What struck the boys as odd was the fact that their were lights on in the mall. Now, could that be the janitor? They didn't think so.  
  
"What's up with the lights on inside?" Sailor Universe asked.  
  
"Maybe somebody fell asleep in the mall and found the power switches?" Duo offered.  
  
"Not likely," Quatre replied.  
  
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Trowa pondered. "I have a gut feeling about this."  
  
"No, that's the frog legs you had tonight," Pyrone laughed.  
  
"Let's check it out, guys," Heero said.  
  
"Yeah! I don't want to be the person that stole my wallet," Wufei growled. "I'll bet   
  
he's still in there, too."  
  
The seven approached the building's portico, when Pyrone suddenly yelled out in pain.  
  
"What's the matter?" Sailor Universe asked.  
  
"That's the same bench where I made out tonight!" Pyrone mocked in surprise.  
  
"Oh dear God," Universe chuckled. "Can we please just get in the mall?"  
  
"Sure thing, Sailor Scout," Pyrone said.  
  
Sailor Universe de-transformed into Tre Young, but wearing the 'black' outfit (trench coat, jeans, long-sleeve, etc.) instead of the one Tre wore earlier.  
  
Tre took some electronic device out of his pocket and placed it near to where the securty sensor for the door was. He flipped a switch on the gadget, stepped back, leaned on his right foot, then smashed the glass with a swift left-foot kick. No alarms went off and the pilots had a nice hole to walk through.  
  
"Gentlemen, if you'll please," Tre bowed them in.  
  
After all six of the others went in, Tre took the device off the door frame and walked in.  
  
Although the lights were on, very few were actually on. It almost seemed as if the place were being set up for a covert operation. But, the whole place seemed just fine to the G-boys.  
  
"Let's split up," Tre suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."  
  
"Right!" they chorused.   
  
"Trowa and Wufei will take the last place Wufei remembers having his wallet," Tre ordered. "Heero and Quatre, take the music store where we were earlier. Duo, you go   
  
with Heero and Quatre. Pyrone and I will take the bottom floor."  
  
"OK," Duo grinned.  
  
"Great," Pyrone groaned, fake. "I'm stuck with you, AGAIN!"  
  
"Shut up!" Tre shot back. "Get going now!"  
  
The team split into their assigned groups and headed to their designated search areas. Tre and Pyrone began their search by retracing their steps with the girls.  
  
"This is going to be an interesting evening," Tre sighed.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"Because I have a clairvoyant disposition telling me something," Tre stated. "But, it doesn't make sense."  
  
"Oh, OK," Pyrone shrugged. "Whatever."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sir," the thin voice of an ensign hailed Shawn over the walkie-talkie.  
  
"Whot is it?" Shawn said shortly.  
  
"There are three figures approaching the music store," the ensign whispered. "Possibly zebra, deen-go, and serpent."  
  
"Uncanny," Shawn breathed. "I didn't expect them to come! I mean, I hoped that they would, but I thought it would be too late! Luck is shining down on us today!"  
  
"What should we do, sir?" the ensign asked, urgency rising in his voice.  
  
"Stand faust and wait for assistance!" Shawn replied. "We are taking no chaunces this time!"  
  
"Should we begin moving, sir?" a lieutenant asked.  
  
"Not yet," Shawn whispered. "We don't want to surprise them without the advontage!"  
  
"Sir!" another ensign screamed into the walkie-talkie.  
  
"Whot?" Shawn whispered harshly.  
  
"We've engaged bear and dove at the escalator!" the ensign yelled over gunshots.  
  
"Hold your position and wait for assistance!" Shawn yelled. "To the escalators!"  
  
The three soldiers that followed Shawn streaked after him toward the escalators.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-A few minutes before-  
  
Tre and Pyrone had retraced their steps when walking with the girls, to the escalators. It was here that Tre remembered Wufei getting knocked down by Raye for calling her a 'weak onna' one times too many. So maybe there was that off chance that he had dropped it here.  
  
"You think we'll find the wallet here?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"Miss Cleo don' know, okay?" Tre mocked in a Caribbean accent.  
  
"You do that so well," Pyrone laughed.  
  
As Pyrone continued to laugh, a rustling of the bushes at the top of the escalators snapped Tre to attention. He shushed Pyrone, who responded with,  
  
"Don't shush me, shushy!"  
  
"Shut the fuck up!" Tre growled through gritted teeth. "Those bushes up there rustled."  
  
"Yeah," Pyrone said seriously. "Like when I'm going to rustle Trista's bush!"  
  
"Idiot!" Tre slapped Pyrone. "Now's not the time to fuck around! She ain't got a bush!"  
  
"How do you know?" Pyrone asked.  
  
The bushes rustled again, this time accompanied by an expletive. Tre and Pyrone looked at each other, then the bushes at their flanks, then the bushes at the top of the escalators. They looked at each other again, then dove behind the bushes to their flanks as machine guns were heard firing off their rounds. The thick clay of the large pots provided excellent cover for Tre and Pyrone, who were separated by at least fifteen feet of open walkway between the pots.  
  
The continuous fire of the British machine guns had splatters of green spraying the men hidden behind the pots. Tre and Pyrone both had moist, green flecks of the leaves from the bush in their hair. Also, the amount of lead being pumped into the pot was beginning to crack the thick clay. Tre and Pyrone had to act.  
  
"You got enough ammo?" Tre yelled over the loud echoes of the machine guns.  
  
"Yeah," Pyrone yelled back, slamming a magazine into his 9mm Baretta.  
  
"You sure your Baretta is gonna do any damage?" Tre yelled, cocking the slides on his Glocks.  
  
"I hope it will," Pyrone muttered under his breath.  
  
He peeked around the corner just enough to see where the enemy was. Then, he aimed and emptied his clip in less than fifteen seconds. Tre was just leaping across the open walkway toward Pyrone, firing alternately from both guns. He landed with two empty weapons. Pyrone was just pulling out another clip when the pot opposite his shattered and spilled its contents. The dark soil spread over the floor in a rough circular mound and was still being fired upon, throwing bits of soil flying.  
  
"Shit!" Tre laughed. "I could've died!"  
  
"Lucky son of a bitch!" Pyrone yelled.  
  
"Well," Tre started, jamming both Glocks back into their holsters, "I'll have to use the ultimate fire power now."  
  
"Which is?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"Click, click, BOOM!" Tre yelled as he drew, pumped, and fired his shotgun.  
  
The glass shattered where the barrier of the escalator was. Two soldiers fell from the height of ten feet on their heads, breaking their necks. Only one left.  
  
"GO!" both shouted.  
  
Tre ran out on the left side of the pot as Pyrone ran out on the right side, weapons blazing. The soldier was impacted by the bullets, his body thrown from one side to the other as the high-velocity ammo hit it on either side. The blood sprayed from the open holes on the back and front, spilling onto the clean floor. The last soldier flopped over, dead and bleeding profusely. Still, both victors ran to the dead soldiers and looted their weapons and ammo clips from their carcasses.  
  
"Holy shit!" Tre shouted.  
  
"Well, well, well!" Pyrone chuckled excitedly.  
  
"MSCZRD-13s!" Tre said in awe. "These are major elephant killers!"  
  
"Not to mention human killers," Pyrone wowed.  
  
"Let's go help out the others," Tre said, running toward the music store.  
  
"Wait! Wait for me!" Pyrone said, slipping on some blood.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Man, I'd sure love to play that drum kit again," Duo mused.  
  
"And bring attention to ourselves by the security system?" Quatre sounded aghast.  
  
"Geez, hold your shirt on, Quatre," Duo shot back.  
  
"Quiet!" Heero barked.  
  
All three boys listened closely to the sound of machine guns in the distance. Quatre got all the more worried, Duo's jaw dropped, and Heero listened for anything at all. The crackle of a radio was all that was needed to alert the pilots. An expletive was heard as Heero pulled Duo and Quatre behind a wall.  
  
A volley of machine gun rounds pierced the silence as Heero drew his trusty sidearm. The Wing Zero pilot peeked around the corner and shot off several rounds before his gun jammed.  
  
"DAMMIT!!" Heero shouted.  
  
"HEERO!!" Tre yelled, sliding to their position. "I was hoping you guys would be OK!"  
  
"Yeah, me too," Pyrone said, sliding into the wall, hard.  
  
"What took you guys so long?" Duo yelled.  
  
"Jungle fever," Tre yelped, ducking from a stray bullet. "We had to take care of a little greenery first. Anyway, here."  
  
Tre passed Heero an MSCZRD-13 and handed out his Glocks to Duo and Quatre. Then, he tried to formulate a plan while the fire ceased. He thought that the best way to take care of these guys was to provide a diversion that causes the enemy to follow them while they pick them all off.  
  
"Okay," Tre whispered. "Here's what we're going to do: Duo and Quatre will provide a diversion that will make the soldiers follow after them. Then, they'll lead them past our location so that the three of us can mow them down with these bitches."  
  
"Great plan," Heero agreed.  
  
"Good idea!" Quatre nodded.  
  
"Yeah," Duo said sarcastically. "Except for one thing: I'm creating the diversion! That doesn't sit well with me!"  
  
"Duo," Pyrone soothed. "We need a couple of guys small enough to to do this job right."  
  
"Heero's the same size as me!" Duo half-screamed.  
  
"Duo, you're the Great Destroyer, right?" Tre asked.  
  
"Yeah, but-" Duo was cut off.  
  
"Then you're the best damned person for this job," Tre said simply.  
  
"Oh man," Duo whined. "Oh, fine! Come on, Q-man."  
  
Duo and Quatre leaped behind the 'holey' trash can sitting next to the divider where everyone was hiding. They carefully peeked through the holes to locate their targets, which were standing right inside the music dealer store. Both nodded at each other and took careful aim at one of them. Then, they both emptied their clips inbto the same soldier. All the others just looked upon the crumpled, 'swiss-cheesed' form of their comrade. That's when Duo and Quatre jumped up and ran away. The rest of the Brits followed after them, reloading.  
  
"NOW!" Tre cued.  
  
He, Pyrone and Heero all mowed the three passing British soldiers down with the guns they had possessed. Blood sprayed all over the opposite storefront as the windows cracked and crashed from too many bullet impacts. The soldiers were all dying, their faces reflecting that of an excruciating pain. Each one flopped over, either face first or falling on their backside and arching their backs. Blood flooded the floor from the many open wounds of the dead bodies.  
  
"That was easy," Tre grinned.  
  
"Not to mention," Pyrone surveyed the scene, "messy."  
  
"Well, we did it," Quatre's voice cracked.  
  
"Yep!" Duo agreed. "We sure did!"  
  
He gave Quatre a pat on the back and the latter immediately vomited. Duo's face contorted into a disgusted expression as the smaller boy up-chucked the greenish-yellow juices from his stomach. Quatre kneeled over his lost meal, coughing harshly. Tre walked over to him and rubbed his back.  
  
"It's all right, Quatre," Tre soothed. "It's over, you didn't get shot."  
  
"Yeah," Quatre voiced shakily. "But, I could've been!"  
  
"What about all the times you faced OZ?" Tre asked. "You didn't throw-up then."  
  
"That's different," Quater sniffed, wiping his mouth. "It wasn't point blank range."  
  
"Look, the only way we're going to get anything done is to hook up with Trowa and Wufei and warn them of the impending danger," Heero said.  
  
"Really?" Pyrone chuckled sarcastically.  
  
"Yes," Heero glowered. "I suggest that we armor ourselves so we don't get hurt."  
  
"You mean transform?" Duo querried.  
  
"Yes," Heero replied, producing his 'Palm Pilot'. "Zero!"  
  
The green lines traced his body in the design of his armor, which then began to envelope itself around Heero's body. Soon, it was over and a mini Zero looked at them.  
  
"Well?" the suit urged.  
  
"Hold your horses, Heero," Pyrone said, dropping the gun.  
  
He too, along with Tre, Duo, and Quatre, all produced their transformation tools and recited their incantations. The lines snaked their way around the pilots as the armor began to form up their bodies. They all stared at each other, then they picked up the guns and fired their rockets, flying toward the food court.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I know it has to be around here somewhere!" Wufei growled.  
  
"Take it easy, Wufei," Trowa ordered. "You got to keep a cool head."  
  
"How can I keep a cool head when all my money is practically missing?" Wufei yelled.  
  
"Start breathing," Trowa said.  
  
The two had looked under all the tables and at every counter in the food court, but to no avail. What if the janitor had stolen it already? What if some average person saw it and said, "Oh, what a lovely wallet!" and had taken it home? What if-  
  
"WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF?" Wufei screamed at me.  
  
"Hey, I'm the author, here," I boasted.  
  
"Well, shut up!" Wufei shouted. "I can't hear myself think!"  
  
"Well, tough!" I snuffed.  
  
Anyway, Wufei and Trowa were too far across the mall to hear the gunshots from the previous battles but they had some weird sense from their guts telling them to be cautious.  
  
Little did they know that a sniper was waiting on the second story of a coffee shop and aiming straight for Trowa. The tall boy was standing upright, looking this way and that for any sign of Wufei's wallet. He felt like had kicked something and bent down to look at it. It was Wufei's wallet!  
  
"Voila! Wufei, I found it!" Trowa announced.  
  
Then Trowa bent down to pick it up at the exact same moment that the sniper had fired. The bullet whizzed narrowly over Trowa's back, but the boy knew something had gone on. A small smoking hole was not three feet from his position. He dove for the nearest table and yelled for Wufei to get down, too.  
  
The sniper had given up on covert and reverted to 'trigger happy infantryman.' He put the rifle down and pulled out the MSCZRD-13. He loaded a fresh clip into the weapon and opened relentless fire. The hyper-paced machine gun emptied the 700-round clip in almost no time flat: 35 seconds. During that time, Trowa and Wufei were stuck behind their tables; shields that didn't protect very well against their enemy. The round metal tops were impressed by the supersonic bullets, so badly that the impressions were three inches deep or three inches long from the G-boys point of view. Luckily, the bullets did not penetrate.   
  
After the firefight was halted for reloading, Wufei and Trowa both popped up from their hiding places and emptied clip after clip from their pistols. They didn't hit their target, who by the way ducked out of the way, delaying his reloading. However, they did manage to 'decorate' the balcony area of the coffee house. Then, from out of nowhere the sound of rocket motors reached the ears of the three people in the vicinity of each other.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The five miniature suits flew in a broad arrowhead formation down the many halls of the mall to get to the food court. Why there? Because that's where Wufei last remembered having his wallet. How else would the guy pay for his food?  
  
As the five flew at breakneck speed through the mall, they formed a battle tactical plan...er, sort of.  
  
"Hey Backlash," DreadScythe called over.  
  
"What?" he replied.  
  
"You want to defend our guys or do you want to take out the sniper?"  
  
"Well, both have a high risk involved with it," Backlash pondered. "So I'm fucked either way!"  
  
"I guess so," Deathscythe laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I'll give you guess so," Backlash veered into Deathscythe.  
  
"Hey!" Deathscythe shouted. "Stop that!"  
  
"Shut up," Zero ordered. "I sense gunshot signatures on my soundwave scope."  
  
"Uh oh," DreadScythe mocked, pulling out its gun. "There's gonna be bloodshed!"  
  
"Can't we just knock him unconscious?" Sandrock pleaded.  
  
"No," was the unanimous reply.  
  
The five suits stopped short of the food court and hovered above the area, surveying the scene. They spotted their friends behind tables as the Brit fired upon them relentlessly. They seemed to be in serious distress.  
  
"Backlash, go around the other side and fly up through the bottom floor of the coffee shop and sneak up behind the guy on the balcony," Dreadscythe pointed.  
  
"Why?" Backlash querried.  
  
"I'll get you a damn ice cream if you do," DreadScythe sighed.  
  
"Oh goody," Backlash sarcastically squealed.  
  
The black suit flew off back the way that they had come and circled around to the front of the coffee shop and landed inside. There, he drew his machine guns and carefully walked up the stairs. Slowly, step by step, he drew nearer and nearer to the soldiers position. The rachety sound of the MSCZRD was heard as the soldier apparently fired at the now present mini-Gundams fliting around the food court. Backlash now placed his left foot on the second floor landing, then his right foot.  
  
The soldier had emptied yet another clip and withdrew to reload. Backlash slowly made his way behind the guy and placed both barrels near the guys neck. At the last minute, the guy sneezed as Backlash fired, missing. The soldier turned around, horrified, as Backlash pistol-whipped him across the face and head several times, then shot the unconscious soldier. The body whipped to and fro, spasms rocked the dying muscles and blood came forth from every major bullet wound. The slow exhale told Backlash that the guy was dead.  
  
"All clear!" he called out, igniting his rockets and taking flight.  
  
"You guys okay?" DreadScythe asked Trowa and Wufei.  
  
"Yeah," Wufei groaned as he rose from the floor.  
  
"It's a good thing that you guys came," Trowa said.  
  
"Yeah, well, what would we do without ya, Trowa buddy?" Deathscythe voiced.  
  
"Funny," Sandrock wondered.  
  
"What?" Backlash querried.  
  
"Well, correct me if I'm wrong," Sandrock started, "but you and Tre killed three soldiers, then we just finished killing another three, plus this one sniper."  
  
"Yeah, so?" DreadScythe replied.  
  
"Well, if there were three or four more soldiers, that would mean we had dealt with a whole squadron!" Sandrock concluded.  
  
"Of course!" DreadScythe smacked his head. "The Brits must have broken through the same time barrier we did! Why else would there be British soldiers here in a twentith-century mall trying to kill the lot of us?"  
  
"What a Hell of a way to put two-and-two together," Backlash chuckled.  
  
"Guys," Deathscythe called. "If there, was a squadron here, then that means-"  
  
"Shawn was the leader," DreadScythe pointed out. "Then, we have four overall missing enemies within the confines of this battleground."  
  
"Then we gotta find them!" Zero voiced. "Wufei, Trowa, transform now!"  
  
"Right!" the two chorused.  
  
Both produced their 'Palm Pilot' and raised them above their heads. Then, in tandem, they shouted their respective incantations.  
  
"Zero-three!" Trowa shouted.  
  
"Zero-five!" Wufei shouted.  
  
The familiar transformation sequence unfolded before the eyes of their friends; the transformation soon ended and two more suits joined the ranks to complete the team of mini-Gundams. They all walked in a sort of jagged arrowhead formation without realizing it and drew their beam weapons, replacing their firearms to their holsters. Backlash and Deathscythe drew their scythes; one triple-bladed scythe for Backlash and two twin-bladed scythes for Deathscythe.Heavyarms ignited its armblades, which if they were another foot long, they would drag along the floor. Sandrock held its sickles at the ready, Altron ignited its katanas and the Zero brandished its beam saber. DreadScythe held its sword and scythe ready for combat, taking the lead of the group next to Zero.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Dear God," Shawn choked at the sight of his men.  
  
The first two ensigns that fell on their necks were lying like limp dolls on the bottom floor, their necks purple and stuck at an odd angle. Their eyes still open and showing the surprise and fear. The unlucky lieutenant who accompanied the two ensigns had more holes in him than Swiss cheese, and was soaking in his own pool of lifeblood. The two lieutenants and commander that accompanied Shawn weren't as shaken as their commanding officer, but they were surprised to see that their leader was disturbed by the deaths of his own men.  
  
"Sir," the commander spoke.  
  
"Don't..." Shawn voiced shakily.  
  
"Sir, with all due respect, are you really that shaken about the deaths of three men?" the commander asked. "If so, then we really feel that you shouldn't be leading a squadron against seven teenage boys!"  
  
"Don't you challenge me, you insolent mother-" Shawn was cut off by a new voice.  
  
"Fucker?" the voice finished.  
  
"Who's there?" a lieutenant asked, fear present in every syllable.  
  
"The Phantom," the voice replied.  
  
"WHAT!?!" Shawn squeaked.  
  
"You heard me," the voice growled.  
  
From out of nowhere, a lone silhouette stood out against the shadows of the partially darkened mall. It seemed to have dreadlocks and was built rather 'boxy'. Then, it raised its head and caused the four men to scream out loud in terror. The eyes were glowing a bright green, contrasting the dark form of the silhouette. Then, the figure brought something out from behind it that looked like a sword, then it revealed a scythe with a glowing black blade. The commander was scared, shaking very violently of intense fear. Alas, he just couldn't handle it anymore. A yellow stain started at the crotch and ran down his left leg, creating a small puddle of piss at his boot heel. The figure walked slowly out of the darkness, approaching the four huddled soldiers. It looked down at the commander's boot heel, and laughed!  
  
"So," it chuckled. "The big, bad commander pisses himself scared like a little baby."  
  
The commander, fear eating away at his consciousness, eyes like dinner plates, just pulled the trigger on his weapon. The bullets went straight to the figure's abdomen, but it still remained rooted to its spot...not even flinching in pain! Soon, the repetitive clicks told the figure before the soldiers that the commander's weapon was out of ammo. So it grabbed the empty weapon by the muzzle, and twisted it into a knot. This was just too much for the commander, so before he fainted, the seat of his white pants turned a soiled brown.  
  
The lieutenants and Shawn were the only ones left against this suppossed monster. But then six more appeared and flanked the first. Shawn's lip quivered, his pale green eyes wide with fear. The lieutenant to his left had just vomited, the sickly green-brown sludge covered the space in between his boots.  
  
"W-w-w-w," Shawn tried to talk, but couldn't.  
  
"What are we?" the lead monster asked.  
  
Shawn could only nod in response, for his throat had contracted too much for him to talk.  
  
"Well," the tallest one started, "you could say we're just a figament of your imagination; we don't even exist."  
  
"Yeah," the twin scythe toter jumped in. "We are just smaller forms of your worst fears: the Gundams!"  
  
"We were afraid that we wouldn't have caught up with you to have a little conversation," the blue one said. "You see, every person has an inner child and Gundams, the so-called soulless machines, have an inner spirit all their own and we are them."  
  
At this point, the same lieutenant tried to make a run for it. He tried to barrel past the suits, but was held back by the tallest one with the braids.   
  
"Now, now, now," 'Braids' taunted. "Can't let you get away without proving our point, can we?"  
  
'Braids' lifted the lieutenant off the ground by the nape of his neck with ease. The lieutenant gave whimper and started to cry out loud for help, for his mother, and for God to save him from the demon that has him in its clutches. At this last reamrk, all seven suits gave an evil cackle.  
  
"You think we're demons?" 'Braids' retorted.  
  
"We just want to rid the world of the vile plans of your country," 'Dreads' spoke. "And the colonies for that matter, as well."  
  
"H-how d-d-did y-y-y-you g-g-g-g-get h-here?" Shawn managed to stutter.  
  
"We stowed away on your ship," 'Dragon Head' informed.  
  
"How? We do security checks on every part of the ship," the second lieutenant said.  
  
"That's right," the captured lieutenant said.  
  
"Shut your mouth!" 'Braids' barked.  
  
After another whimper from the captured lieutenant, and he shut his mouth. Shawn still wanted to know more from the dreaded one.  
  
"Oy, Dread!" Shawn called.  
  
"What?" 'Dreads' snarled.  
  
"You called yourself the Phantom, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, I know only one person by that alias and he's a pilot of a Gundam that you are suppossedly a spirit of, do you know him?"  
  
"You must mean Tre Young, no?" 'Dreads' replied.  
  
"Actually, yes."  
  
"Yes, he is the pilot of DreadScythe, that's me."  
  
'Oh, so that's what his Gundam is called, eh?' Shawn thought.  
  
'Shit, I shouldn't have said that,' Tre thought.  
  
"Well, DreadScythe," Shawn drawled. "I must commend you and your friends on scaring me but I believe my fears have waned by now."  
  
"Not so," DreadScythe retorted. "Backlash!"  
  
The suit with braids put its free hand over the mouth of the lieutenant in its possession and quickly snapped his neck, killing him and ripping the flesh of the back of his neck off in the process, which caused the body to crumple to the floor.   
  
"Oops," Backlash growled. "I meant to do that!"  
  
The seven of them all cackled again, glowering at the two remaining soldiers. They both turned tail and ran for their lives.   
  
"Let's go get 'em," DreadScythe told his group calmly.  
  
They took flight after the two British officers, catching up to them after about ten seconds. DreadScythe took a swing with its scythe at Shawn's leg, just missing and leaving a gash running across his calf. Shawn roared out in pain and fell to the ground. The lieutenant ran back to his commanding officer only to be caught by the throat and raised above the ground by the mainly silver suit. The choking lieutenant looked at the glaring green eyes of the suit as he tried his hardest to release the grip on his throat. Try as he might, the grip only got tighter and the lieutenant was losing the ability to breathe.  
  
"Crush his windpipe, Zero," the DreadScythe ordered its companion in a cold tone.  
  
"DreadScythe, no!" a smaller suit pleaded.  
  
"Why not, Sandrock?" the taller suit interrogated.  
  
"Because we are killing human beings in cold blood; we are MURDERING THEM!!" Sandrock yelled. "This isn't the ethical approach to dealing with the problem at hand! Sure, killing the first two was fun enough to make our point, but we shouldn't have to brutally punish these two as well."  
  
"Hell, Sandrock," Backlash intervened. "They're British soldiers, they deserve it!"  
  
"No," DreadScythe countered. "Sandrock's right. We are being way too heartless when we should be more understanding and compassionate. Shawn, my Gundams pilot won't be happy to know that you were here, that he didn't have the opportunity to kill you for what you did to his sister."  
  
"How do you know what I did to her?" Shawn questioned, voice cracking.  
  
"I am the inner spirit of the DreadScythe," DreadScythe answered. "Therefore, I know all about my pilot and his modus operandi; if you know Latin, you'll know what I mean."  
  
"W-w-w-what?"  
  
"Get out of here," Dreadscythe reluctantly urged. "Go, before I change my mind."  
  
Shawn looked at DreadScythe like it had grown an extra head or something, but ran to the roof exit.  
  
"You too," DreadScythe told the lieutenant.  
  
Zero let the soldier go and as soon as the soldier made contact with the ground, he slipped, scrambling to get away. He soon regained his footing under the eyes of the seven suits. He looked back several times as he ran away, making sure they didn't follow him.  
  
"Why'd you let them go?" Deathscythe screamed.  
  
"Because I wanted to let them leave with something to think about," DreadScythe replied. "Besides, it isn't my revenge. It's my sister's right to do whatever she chooses to do with him because he's fucked her over...twice in fact, leaving her with the short end of the stick."  
  
"Twice?" Altron checked.  
  
"Twice," DreadScythe verified. "He fucked her without protection; that resulted in the birth of Missy, for one. Second, he claims he isn't the father, leaving the child in her care, for her to worry about. If my dad hadn't been the soft-hearted man he is, then she would be on the streets somewhere with that little girl to look out for in addition to herself.   
  
"So, that's why she deserves this revenge more than I need mine," DreadScythe finished.  
  
"Why would you need revenge?" Heavyarms pondered.  
  
"Because, Shawn and I both did something most regretable to each other in high school after Lory was killed," DreadScythe remembered. "He had made some crack about the British are going to rape and pillage every American girl when they took over all the world and colonies. It was only three weeks after Lory was killed and I had overheard it. So, I snapped and beat him up for it. I went everywhere I knew would hurt the most: the face, nose, instep, ribs, nuts, temples, and the stomach. So ever since then, he and I have been at each other's throats and rivaling one another."  
  
"Hmm," Zero commented. "Sounds like you've had a rough life."  
  
"Nothing compared to you," DreadScythe huffed.  
  
"So," Backlash voiced, de-transforming. "What now?"  
  
"I guess we go," DreadScythe sighed, following Pyrone's action.  
  
All the suits then de-transformed, revealing the five Gundam pilots hidden underneath. The two elder pilots looked at their younger companions, then walked out the mall with them. As they passed through the broken window in the door, Tre turned around and took a last glance at the destruction the mall endured during the fiasco that ensued there.  
  
"You think we should clean up our mess before we have some more fun?" Tre said sardonically.  
  
"No," Pyrone said.  
  
"I'm for that," Tre added, then exited through the door. 


	20. Identities Revealed

ATTENTION READERS: Finally! This is the next installment, my best so far. It took me so long to write this because I had a lot to say in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this, a lot of action. I would like to say a very special thank you to Sailorcelestial, for being a good friend and reading this long piece of work for me. And a big thanks to all whom reviewed my story thus far, and giving it thumbs up, you know who you are! Still, those who haven't reviewed, tell me what you would like to see happen next, or what you liked. Have fun reading this everyone. P.S. - I strongly recommend to everyone that you download 'What's Going On? (Reality Check Mix)' because it kicks ass!  
  
Chapter 20 - Identities Revealed  
  
"What were those things, Luna?" Sailor Moon interrogated.  
  
The Sailor Scouts were still at the park field where the battle that was started by Sailor Universe and ended by those seven weird suits. Trees lay across the grounds, uprooted and multiple holes in their trunks. Craters from the energy blasts were scattered about the field. Burnt foliage littered the field and splinters stuck in the ground like spears. A battle certainly raged here, and the Scouts wanted to know what those things were: enemies or allies?  
  
"Well-er-you see..." Luna fumbled for an explanation.  
  
"And what about you, Artemis?" Sailor Venus grilled the cat.  
  
"I haven't the slightest clue," Artemis calmly answered.  
  
"You better not be lying to me," Venus said, a twitch in her eye.  
  
"Mina, would I lie to you?" Artemis asked sweetly.  
  
"YES!!" Venus yelled. "Now tell me the truth!"   
  
"Those are our allies," Artemis sighed. "They're the reincarnation of the Royal Guard."  
  
"Funny," Sailor Mercury piped. "I seem to remember Sailor Universe disappearing during the fight and not reappearing. Plus, another suit joined the battle a little later than Universe's disappearance. There's probably a connection."  
  
"Right you are Mercury," Luna said. "Sailor Universe was the suit that was late."  
  
"So, who are the others?" Mars asked, her words slurred.  
  
"I cannot tell you that," Luna replied. "They have secret identities, like you."  
  
"No fair!" Venus retorted. "We're the Sailor Scouts! We have a right, as the protectors of the world, to know who our allies are!"  
  
"Not this time," Artemis said.  
  
So the scouts were in the dark, so to speak. The soft moonlight played across the field, shedding a dim light over the shadows and the Scouts. Sailor Pluto was even at a loss for words or thoughts. She should've known who the new allies were but the future was never written in stone, so she couldn't be sure. Her fingers from her free hand over her mouth in concentration, she pondered over the faces of the people she knew from the Silver Millennium. She couldn't remember for the life of her the Royal Guard. She knew she was in love with one of them back then, but she couldn't even remember his face.  
  
'I'm too old for this shit,' she thought.  
  
"Pluto," Sailor Neptune interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Yes?" Pluto acknowledged, snapping out of her reverie.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Neptune wondered.  
  
"The Silver Millennium," Pluto answered simply. "I was trying to remember the faces of the Royal Guard, because I know that seven of us were in love with six of them, except Venus who was in love with Sailor Universe."  
  
"Hey!" Sailor Mars announced. "I can do a fire reading and see the faces of the Royal Guard we were in love with!"  
  
"Great idea, Raye!" Sailor Moon said excitedly. "Let's get going then!"  
  
Sailor Mars tried to get up, but she gave a whimper of pain and sat down again. She told her friends that she was okay, but they told her to stay where she was and rest.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shawn was dejected, to say the least. He was the only survivor of the Mall Massacre, as he called it, for he had no choice but to kill the lieutenant that came out with him. As he sat in the mostly empty troop shuttle, he leaned against the wall of the shuttle and placed his head in his hands, crying in shame. Once again, Tre had bested him, but it was the spirit of the Gundam he piloted that let him go. That bothered him the most; of all the times Tre and his Gundam, what was it called, DreadScythe, had tried to kill him, why would the spirit want to let him go? This caused even more tears to flow, puffing his eyes up and redness setting in.  
  
The shuttle docked with the cruiser and Shawn retreated to his quarters immediately. There, he flopped onto his bunk and pulled the covers over his body. He wanted to go to sleep, and never wake up. His future father-in-law was pissed at him; time after time, men died under his command; his fiancée wanted him to kill her father so he could be king; he just wanted to die and make everybody happy.  
  
"Feeling depressed, are we?" a voice shattered Shawn's silent quarters.  
  
"Who's there?" Shawn demanded. "I'm armed!"  
  
"Don't be stupid," the voice said. "You couldn't hurt me with your weapon."  
  
A faded form of a man with pale skin and blue, shoulder-length hair was staring at Shawn from the opposite end of his quarters. Shawn's eyes bulged out of their sockets when he saw this entity. Fear crept into his very heart as he tried to get as much space between himself and the man in his quarters. With ragged breaths, Shawn panted,  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"I am Lord Sven Cadgrade, of the Dark Sect," the man introduced himself.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"To kill the Sailor Scouts and the Royal Guards," Sven said. "The Royal Guard are the Gundam pilots. I know that you want them dead."  
  
"With all my breaths, yes," Shawn answered. "They are the thorn in the side of our cause; the cause of the British to conquest the entire Earthsphere and the colonies!"  
  
"What a noble cause!" Sven said excitedly, then whispering, "I can help you."  
  
"How?" Shawn asked.  
  
"I can make your mobile suits unstoppable," Sven cooed. "And your men, I can turn them into the Scouts worst nightmares. Sure, they've faced minions of failures like Queen Beryl, Witches Five, Mistress Nine and that Pharaoh Ninety, not to mention Queen Naharenia and her Dark Circus. Those pitiful Amazons weren't worth any of the dark energy used to make them. And Galaxia, ha! She's a pushover!"  
  
"Why are you telling me this?" Shawn asked.  
  
"Because they all used magical fairies," Sven hissed. "Never did they use human flesh; real humans have something that magic could never have made, a soul! That soul's desires are brought to the surface when I enhance a human with my dark energy. I can do that to your men, and I guarantee you that the Gundams couldn't help the Sailor Scouts with these human minions! What do you say? Have we got a deal?"  
  
Sven extended his shadowed hand, greed flickering in his eyes. Shawn seemed to have no trouble with this decision and immediately shook his hand.  
  
"So I seal my fate, is that it?" Shawn stared Sven down.  
  
"No, not exactly," Sven said. "You have just given me an opportunity to strike back."  
  
"You're using my man power to do your deeds?" Shawn sounded aghast.  
  
"No, YOU are using your man power to do my bidding," Sven cackled.  
  
With that, the shadowed form of Sven materialized into the once more fierce warrior he started as. He flashed a menacing, fanged grin at Shawn. Shawn, being the human he is, backed away in fear, his breath coming out in short pants. Sven just cackled some more, then said,  
  
"Oh, don't worry! I won't eat you ickle boy!"  
  
Sven gave an all out laugh, shaking the very foundations of Shawn's room. Shawn was very close to fainting from fear and lack of blood to the brain; his blood vessels had contracted from the overall shock and the high pumping of his heart was pumping more blood than the constricted vessels had room for.  
  
"Come," Sven motioned.  
  
Sven walked out of the room toward the flight deck. Shawn followed, but at a considerable distance. They reached the flight deck within minutes, Sven took no detours because of wrong turns. He waved his hand over the door and it slid open. Sven walked in like it was home, despite the gasps and screams from the crew. He made his way to the captain's seat, which was currently vacant. Sven turned around and announced,  
  
"Crew members of this vessel! I am Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect, and I am taking control of this cruiser...and your lives!"  
  
He raised his hands and shot yellow sparks into the air. Each spark touched a crewmember and they instantly fell unconscious. Shawn was still unaffected. He watched in horror as his subordinates fell to the floor in a deep sleep.   
  
A dark lilac mist crept up on the still flight deck and shrouded the bodies. Each OZ officer aboard immediately started to take on a metallic appearance, not to mention naked. However, certain anatomical parts where generously blended into the body of each metallic being. The former women had their individual faces but they all characterized the same bust in their metallic forms. Their hair turned a silky silver color and their eyes all stone gray.  
  
The men had all gained a muscular-toned body and short hairstyles, which was mountain rock gray. Their eyes were the color of polished steel that were very piercing and analyzing. The very sight into those steel pools would freeze an ordinary human dead in fear.  
  
Shawn looked over the metallic forms of his crewmembers and smiled in victorious satisfaction. Looking at Sven, he smiled even wider.  
  
"Can you do me a custom job?" Shawn demanded.  
  
"Why, of course," Sven sang. "You want your old body, I suppose?"  
  
"Yes, but the strength my crew possesses, tenfold!" Shawn said with a fiery determination. "I don't want to be in command and not be stronger!"  
  
"Absolutely," Sven said in a low voice, then he started chanting in an ancient tongue. "Gwir saun thet yesder BONG!"  
  
As Sven recited this incantation, he swirled his hands in an invisible pool, concocting a sickly brown ball of energy. He brought the ball to Shawn and shoved it into the human's body.  
  
Shawn staggered backwards, losing his balance. He coughed horribly harsh, almost like he was going to upchuck at any moment. He then started to scream in the most extreme agony. His body felt like it was going to tear apart, then it felt like it would collapse in on itself. Shawn threw himself about, flinging his body into walls. He flew from one wall to the other, throwing his entire weight into it. He would have crushed his skeleton completely if he were still a normal human, but he wasn't.  
  
After five minutes of this, Shawn righted himself to stand on two feet, but he was still doubled over. He was panting heavily and slowly. Sven approached, concern flicked across his face for an instant but changed into a grin of utmost victory.  
  
"How do you feel?" Sven asked.  
  
"Like I'm going to jump out of my skin," Shawn groaned.  
  
"That is expected," Sven nodded. "But it will pass in little time."  
  
"Let's get them," Shawn hissed, fangs protruding from his mouth.  
  
"Let's wait until you're ready to fight," Sven soothed. "Your body isn't yet prepared."  
  
"Fine!" Shawn growled. "I hate waiting!"  
  
"So do I," Sven agreed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The seven pilots were just leaving the mall through the smashed glass door and they headed back to their rides. They were all very tired and decided to rest up a bit. Tre had thought that the Scouts would show up and aid them but that obviously wasn't the case. That bothered him, for two reasons: 1) it meant that they didn't defend the world against a military threat, and 2) that Japan was in trouble without them. Would taking them to the future really be a good idea? That was uncertain, for now, anyway.  
  
"Why didn't the Scouts show up?" Tre thought out loud.  
  
"Because it didn't have to do with a monster?" Duo suggested.  
  
"Probably," Pyrone acknowledged. "That is strange."  
  
"Very," Tre sighed. "But why is it only a magical creature gains the attention of the Scouts? Why isn't it something that could threaten human lives, like military tyrants like that Shawn? One of these days, it just might happen, and they won't be here to stop it from doing its work on this world."  
  
"Dude," Duo sat up. "Don't sweat over it! As long as we're here, the Scouts have nothing to worry about but taking care of those magical fags and lesboes, while we knock out the militant shit."  
  
"You're worse than me sometimes," Pyrone commented. "I've never heard anyone use that term in forever."  
  
"Pyrone, you'll not live long enough to see forever," Wufei offered.  
  
"Well, not in the flesh," Pyrone explained. "But, I will in the afterlife, in Heaven."  
  
All the pilots seemed to sigh inwardly, thinking of their slice of heaven; what it would be like when they died, where they would go based on their Judgement (Heaven or Hell), and most importantly, who'd they share it with. Tre seemed to be right at home here in the past: no work to do, no Italian Mafia trying to destroy your business, and no worries. Hell, he wasn't even born yet according to this time, and he won't be for many years.   
  
He sighed loudly, smiling, and lay across the hood of his car. He just wanted to stare at the stars, but that damned parking lot light was interfering. Pulling out his gun, he shot the bulb, allowing it to shatter into pieces and fall to the pavement with a tinkling sound. This startled the other pilots and they stared at their friend who was staring out into space, if you will.  
  
"I could live here forever," Tre said.  
  
"Yeah, this would be a great slice of Heaven," Duo agreed.  
  
"I could live with this any day," Quatre added. "And I wouldn't care if I were broke!"  
  
"This is serene," Trowa said. "Very peaceful."  
  
"Ah, few words, however, wise," Wufei complimented. "The stars sure are beautiful, though. I must say that this primitive land does have its beauty when it is shrouded in the cloak of night."  
  
"Oh please don't go poetic on us, Wufei," Pyrone laughed. "I'm starting to well up!"  
  
"Everything's so blurry, and everyone's so fake," Heero sighed.  
  
"Quoting Puddle of Mudd, huh?" Tre recognized. "I like that, Heero."  
  
"I just like that line is all," Heero retorted. "It is very poetic. (sigh) I wish I had a someone to share an intimate moment with."  
  
"And I suppose Relena wouldn't do," Tre sighed.  
  
"Oh Hell no," Heero spoke. "I think I'd enjoy this much more with Serena."  
  
"Oh?" Quatre smiled.  
  
"Something new has been added," Duo jested. "Heero likes a girl!"  
  
"Props to Heero," Pyrone acknowledged. "I hate to be serious, but I think I can make an exception this time around."  
  
"Thanks, Pyrone," Heero mumbled.  
  
They lay atop the hood of Tre's car for about twenty minutes, making idle chat about them. It was quite possibly the only time where all seven pilots were honest with one another; old friendships were repaired and new ones were just beginning to solidify. It was as Quatre was staring at the sky that he noticed a rather prominent meteor streak across the sky. What made it so significant was the fact that its intensity increased as it moved through the atmosphere, instead of burning up and dimming out. He alerted everyone else immediately as the streak landed in the direction of the park.  
  
"Guys!" Quatre blurted. "Something's up!"  
  
"What is it, Quatre?" Trowa spoke first.  
  
"I saw something that looked like a meteor fall to the park where we just left!"  
  
"What?" Tre jumped up. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Absolutely," Quatre answered.  
  
"SHIT!!" Tre exclaimed. "Come on! Get in the car! Go, go, go, go, go!"  
  
The pilots scrambled into the car and Tre hopped onto the bike. Duo hopped on behind him, gave him a thumbs up, and Tre kick-started the engine. The funnel of afterburning fuel shot back as Tre twisted the throttle full blast. He then released the brakes and shot forward, Pyrone driving the car in close tow.  
  
They roared out of the parking lot and screamed toward the park. Tre spoke into the mic situated at the top of his windshield.  
  
"We have to help the Scouts out again, guys. Are you ready?"  
  
"Yes!" they chorused.  
  
"I will save Trista," Pyrone spoke up. "And hopefully she'll be extra nice to me!"  
  
"Pyrone, if you do this for her," Heero started, "she'll gladly give it up."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What was THAT!?!" Sailor Mars asked.  
  
"I don't know," Sailor Moon answered. "But I have a feeling it isn't going to be nice."  
  
The Scouts were just about leave when they heard a low whistling sound and an earth-shattering crash. None of them noticed a glowing streak coming out of the sky. They only knew that it was their duty as Sailor Scouts to investigate this incident. As they approached, they noted the fiery glow still emanating from the vessel.  
  
The vessel looked like a long, metallic box with truncated corners. The Scouts noticed it took a long time to stop, for its front end was completely covered in a huge pile of dirt it pushed up as it skidded from about fifty yards back. A dirt trench signified this craft skidded to a halt from that distance, knocking over trees or snapping them in half completely.  
  
Suddenly, a door on the craft opened up and outward. A man staggered into view, silhouetted against the smoke producing from the cabin. The shape of this figure looked familiar to the Scouts: the long hair, the beefed muscular body, and the towering stature. But it couldn't be-  
  
"I'm back!" the figure said. "So nice to see you lovely Sailors again!"  
  
"No!" Sailor Pluto gasped.  
  
"It can't be!" Sailor Mars breathed.  
  
"How is this possible?" Sailor Neptune questioned. "How did Sven survive?"  
  
"No matter," Sailor Uranus smirked. "I've been dying for some payback!"  
  
She ran at Sven with her Space Sword drawn. She dove for Sven, slicing away. The enemy dodged every one of her offensives. She fell to the earth in a crouch, ready to strike again. She nodded at Sailor Saturn, who nodded back. Then the two charged the enemy.  
  
"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus yelled, bringing down her sword.  
  
"Silence Glaive Surprise!" Saturn yelled, swinging her glaive.  
  
A silence followed for a few seconds time, then a huge explosion rocked the earth. The light from Uranus' attack flew at the spot where Sven was. After the dust cleared, the ship was still there but it was badly dented and crushed; in other words, no longer flight worthy. But, Sven still remained. This shocked Sailor Saturn the most because that was a very deadly and dangerous attack. Still, Sven cackled like a madman.  
  
"Can't you stupid soldiers see that I am invincible?" he gloated.  
  
"This is impossible," Sailor Moon cried.  
  
"How can we beat him if he can't be killed?" Sailor Neptune sounded worried.  
  
Again, Sven cackled. This time, though, his laughs were colder and higher. Then, when he spoke, his words were so cold that they literally seemed to freeze in front of his face.  
  
"What could be more worse? I'll tell you, the return of Princess Snow Kaguya that's what! HA! She will freeze you all to your very soul now that she is under my power!"  
  
The sky darkened even more, and blanket of snow now appeared. A thick layer of ice coated the pavement of the sidewalk. The Scouts heard a high-pitched laugh from behind them, and whipped around to see the familiar blue-skinned princess. A thin, see-through shroud flowing from her headdress covered her half-nude body. She smiled at the Scouts as she spoke.  
  
"So, Sailor Scouts, did you miss me?"  
  
"NO!" the Scouts shouted in unison.  
  
"Too bad," the princess tsked. "This time, my snow dancers won't be so easy to deal with, thanks to Lord Sven's power."  
  
The princess closed her eyes, then began to sing. A white flurry escaped her lips and began to whirl around itself. It then turned into a snow dancer, but that snowdancer began to break off into others, multiplying rather quickly. Soon, there were about 70 snow dancers floating in the sky, beneath their cackling princess. The snow dancers charged the Scouts, this time with intense victory written in their eyes.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"As soon as we stop," Tre spoke the final line of instructions to his team, "transform into your suits."  
  
"What do we do if that Sven dude shows up again?" Pyrone asked. "I mean, that magic shit does get very technical sometimes, you know."  
  
"Yeah," Tre agreed. "OK, just do what you did last time and you'll be fine."  
  
With that said and done, Tre squeezed the brake handles to stop the bike. The reverse thrusters were lighted and sustaining their power, slowing the bike down immediately. The car however, had to screech to a halt. With one last rev from both vehicles' engines, they shut down. The seven pilots all piled out of the car or off the bike. They gathered together in a circle and transformed into the Gundam suits. All the sudden, a freak cold blew in and snow covered the ground, while ice coated the various pavements. The Gundams didn't know what to think, but they fired their rockets and flew off in search of the Scouts.  
  
It wasn't long until they heard the grunts of extreme effort and the feminine 'Indian-calls.' The suits rounded a bend of trees and stopped so short that one knocked into the other, still hovering.   
  
The Scouts were locked in a furious battle with a bunch of white, flying figures. These figures were the source of the 'Indian-calls', as they flung their icy blasts at the Scouts. They all flitted about, leaving long white trails behind them. A lone figure with blue skin floated above the scene. Off in the background, Tre could just use enough binocular vision to make out a crashed ship with its door opened and a figure standing in the doorway. That figure was Sven, Lord Sven Cadgrade.  
  
"Hmm," DreadScythe grunted, as Sven disappeared. "It seems our pal has come to play, after all."  
  
"Son of a bitch," Backlash breathed, pumping its shotguns. "I'll have to take him out."  
  
"No, I got a better idea," DreadScythe said. "Let's use this ice to our advantage. Take out your scythes, boys!"  
  
"Umm, Tre?" Sandrock spoke. "What if we don't have scythe staffs?"  
  
"Uh, hold on," DreadScythe pondered. "Deathscythe needs one, I have one, Backlash has one, Altron has the glaive, so he'll be fine. Heavyarms can take one of Deathscythe's staffs and you, Sandrock, can take the sword."  
  
DreadScythe drew the long sword and handed it to Sandrock. The smaller suit seemed to have trouble handling it at first. The seven suits all made their presence known when they fired their weapons at the snow princess. She got hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet from Heavyarms. She shrieked in agony, clutching the wound and glaring at the seven suits. All seven of them stopped, landing on the ice. She threw a shining white orb of energy at the seven suits, which immediately exploded. The Scouts just yelled in protest, screaming out, "NO!!" Chunks of ice and gravel flew askew from the blast, thundering like an exploding bomb. Then, a glow in the smoke was seen, but not just one, five were seen. As the smoke cleared, the seven suits just walked out of the smoke, not a scratch on them, and their energy beam weapons ablaze. Princess Snow Kaguya was appalled to see that these metallic intruders survived. The Scouts breathed a sigh of relief, and DreadScythe spoke first.  
  
"Hey you!"  
  
"You address me?" the princess seethed.  
  
"Yeah, I do," DreadScythe shot back. "Why don't you have those snow whores play with us? We could have so much fun!"  
  
"What an idea!" the princess agreed. "My beautiful snow dancers, attack those seven metal-heads, and make sure they suffer greatly!"  
  
The snow dancers diverted their attention away from the Scouts and went after the suits. They threw blast after blast of their icy power, missing completely for some reason. Before they were within point blank range, DreadScythe held up its hand and shouted...  
  
"STOP!!"  
  
...which the snow dancers did. They paused in their motions and stared piercingly at the seven suits. DreadScythe fumbled in its suit for a second until it pulled out a small, circular object about an inch thick; a hockey puck.   
  
"Anyone up for a little hockey?" DreadScythe asked.  
  
The snow dancers facevaulted, as did the Scouts. Then, when the former group retook their stances, spikes suddenly surrounded the puck. Six talon-like energy blades protruded from the edge around the puck and several conical spikes poked out at varying angles from the flats of the puck. Green energy blades had surrounded the small black object.  
  
"Makes it more interesting, doesn't it?" Backlash questioned, leaning on his staff.  
  
"Absolutely," Deathscythe said, swinging its staff like a bat.  
  
"GO!!" DreadScythe said, chucking the puck high into the air.  
  
As it fell to the earth, the suits opened their rocket's throttle enough to keep them warmed for their flight. With a thunk, the puck fell to the icy pavement, and the game began. DreadScythe blasted forward, skidding his feet against the ice with his rockets going full blast. He checked into one of the dancers as the other suits scattered, and took control of the puck. His scythe blade was ignited, but it didn't do any harm to the Neo-Gundanium puck. He dribbled the puck for a while, then slapped it to Deathscythe, who was all the way across the park field. Deathscythe did some fancy twirling and passed the puck to Heavyarms. Heavyarms just passed it on to Sandrock, who found it very difficult to hit a puck with a sword. Sandrock dribbled the puck before he passed it on to Altron. Altron received the puck and 'skated' backward like he had played hockey his whole life. He flew forward, skimming the slick surface of the ice and dribbling the puck with ease. Zero flew in and stole with his beam cannon. He blasted the puck, which flew into the air. It landed with a clatter and Backlash took control of it. All the while, the snow dancers chased after the puck like a cat does a ball.   
  
DreadScythe 'skated' at a very high speed and ignited his armblades. The black blade split into five thinner versions. He shut down his rockets, and started sliding on his left side, the left-hand blades digging into the ice, leaving five long trails in the ice. He came to a stop as the puck was flying his way. He stopped it, then 'skated' off with it. DreadScythe hit the puck underneath his legs to Deathscythe, who was behind the former. Deathscythe almost fumbled too much with the puck, but regained control in time enough to pass it off to Backlash. By this time, the snow dancers had gained enough intuitive reasoning to realize the object of the game. Several of them had covered Backlash, but Backlash broke through and received the puck. He slanted his staff to create a ramp, which the puck traveled up on and smashed through a snow dancer's face. Backlash twirled around fast enough to clamp the puck underneath the end of his staff. The snow dancers raised their arms to block Backlash's view. DreadScythe had been signaling his intention of needing the puck. Seeing that he wasn't getting it, he started with the chatter.  
  
"Hey dickless!" he yelled. "Give me the puck!"  
  
"Hey, fuck you!" Backlash returned. "I can't see with these snow bitches in my way!"  
  
"Well, pass the puck!"  
  
"FINE!"  
  
With an almighty roar, Backlash raised his staff high and slapped the puck to DreadScythe. Unfortunately, one of the snow dancers caught it; it's unfortunate for the snow dancer.  
  
"Shit! She got it!" Backlash complained. "What now, genius?"  
  
"Watch!" DreadScythe laughed.  
  
The snow dancer's face contorted into an expression of confusion when the puck started to glow red. Then, it levitated out of her hand and started to spin like a top. Without warning, it tore through her head, destroying her. It flitted off at an amazingly high speed and started on a death trip. It slashed across one snow dancer's abdomen, leaving a deep trench in her torso. It then crashed through another one, head-on. It sliced through her body, from her head and down through her innards. Nothing was left of that one. One after another, the snow dancers fell victim to the puck's lethal attack.  
  
After the last one was obliterated, the puck seemed to focus on the princess, still spinning like a top. The green spikes surrounding the puck were nothing more than a faded blur of green surrounding the puck like a halo. Princess Snow Kaguya leered at the puck and held her hands open toward the sky. In each palm formed a blazing blue-white ball of icy energy. The princess threw these at the puck with a growl. The puck raced toward the princess and collided with the orbs. The three objects created a very small explosion, but the shockwave was enormous. The bone-crushing shock knocked all the Scouts and suits down, not to mention remove all the dirt from the front of the ship with the constant vibration. In the end, nothing remained of the puck, except for a smoking mass of metal, the same metal that armors the suits.  
  
All the Gundams looked at each other like they had seen a ghost. To put it frankly, they were worried. If that ice princess could do that to a Neo-Gundanium puck, then what could she do to a suit of Neo-Gundanium?  
  
"Well, it can't be that bad," Backlash optimized. "Can it?"  
  
"Why don't we just find out for ourselves," DreadScythe suggested.  
  
"Good idea!" Backlash agreed. "Me first!"  
  
He faced the princess, and underneath all that armor, he smiled with confidence. Twirling his scythe staff, the three blades of navy blue made trails in the air from the afterimage (a bright source contrasts a dark environment so quickly that our eyes don't adjust, so it leaves behind a remnant of the bright source). Then, he boasted like an egotistical freshman,  
  
"I bet you can't kill me!"  
  
"You have yourself a deal!" the princess replied with glee.  
  
"Let's play!"  
  
With a whoop of mock insanity, Backlash rocketed toward the princess. She glared Backlash down, then threw an icy blast at him. He dodged it and slashed at her as he neared her position. She dodged that, then gave him a chop in the spine. He fell to the earth, groaning from the pain repeating on him from the blow. She landed softly next to him, smirked, then spread her arms wide open. A small shimmer began then it grew it a huge shimmering orb of deadly energy. Pyrone was now very worried, he could tell that his suit wouldn't sustain this amount of punishment, magic or not.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sailor Moon gasped as she surveyed the scene that was about to take place.  
  
"She's going to unleash the same attack that she tried against the Silver Crystal!"  
  
"Are you sure?" Sailor Pluto asked urgently.  
  
"YES!" Sailor Moon shouted.  
  
"We have to save him!" Sailor Pluto announced.  
  
"No, Pluto!" Uranus jumped in front of Pluto, blocking her way.  
  
"Uranus, move!" Pluto said firmly.  
  
"No, I won't watch you get killed," Uranus replied, just as firm.  
  
"I have my staff to protect me," Pluto countered, trying to move past.  
  
"It won't do a damned bit of good as a defense," Uranus shot back. "Let those things handle it. Besides, they've proven their worth against those snow dancers."  
  
Pluto stood down, accepting the defeat from this argument. Little did she know her decision to help out was justified, for her newfound love was about to be destroyed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" Backlash grunted.  
  
"Dispose of your worthless being," the princess replied coldly.  
  
"Oh, great," Backlash mocked. "I thought you were going to kill me."  
  
"I am," she retorted.  
  
"Shit," he said, dejectedly.  
  
As the orb grew, the glint of victory in the princess' eye was very prominent. As she flew above her target another flying object knocked into her back, shoulder first. Her face changed into an expression of utmost surprise and agony. Her eyes bulged and her mouth fell open, choking sounds emitted from her throat. DreadScythe hovered nearby, obviously the assailant. He flew to help his partner up, then both rocketed out of the line of fire.   
  
"On three," DreadScythe started, "I want you guys to pump Frosty the Snow Bitch full of heat! Don't let up because she's a girl; treat her like a slut! Fuck her up!"  
  
All the Gundams drew their weapons: beam rifles, beam cannons, machine guns, shotguns, and Gatling guns. All trained on the now and forever doomed princess. She was still too injured to even look at her killers. She just coughed up a bluish mass and slumped over in mid-air. That was the last thing she did.  
  
"One," DreadScythe counted. "Two! THREE!!"  
  
It was a mixture of pure noise: the loud explosive sounds of rifles and shotguns going off; the ratta-tatta-tatta of machine guns; the droning buzz of Gatlings. The environment was alight with the bright trails of tracer bullets, the wide golden beam of energy, the strobing of machine gun rounds, and the flashes of shotguns firing. Each round fired met its mark, tearing away at the ice blue body of Princess Snow Kaguya. She was shattered once again and this time for good.  
  
The Scouts and the Gundams cheered. The battle was won and the victors remained victorious and this time, under control. The suits flew toward the Scouts, the ice and snow melting away like an illusion.   
  
Just as the suits were about to meet the Scouts, something burst forth from the ground. A jutting brown tower of earth split the surface, spraying the Scouts and Gundams with soil. Sven paused in mid-air as the 'tower' fell back to the ground as loose soil. He growled with each breath, baring his fangs.   
  
"You have insulted me long enough!" Sven barked. "I shall dispose of you with my ultimate creations! Cadspikes, come forth!"  
  
Filing out of the ship in single file, a group of about ten silvery metallic beings of male and female form emerged. They glared at the Scouts and the Gundams with utmost hatred. Sven just made things worse.  
  
"Kill them."  
  
They flew at the Scouts and Gundams, but were stopped by something. A blaring of a car horn and the ear-splitting roar of a jet engine were heard. Out of the trees came the jetbike and the car. Both stopped in between the two groups, revving their engines. Suddenly, Tre had an idea.  
  
"Deathscythe! Backlash! Fly with the bike!" DreadScythe started barking orders. "Pluto, Jupiter! Get on the bike, it'll drive itself!"  
  
The two Scouts got on the bike, tearing out of there. The two aforementioned suits followed after the vehicle. DreadScythe sent the car off, which it did, peeling out and throwing dirt all over the Cadspikes.  
  
"Altron, take Mars and fly off! Heavyarms, the same with Neptune!" DreadScythe continued with the orders. "Zero, do the same with Moon! Sandrock, circle offensive on flip two! Uranus, Venus, come with me!"  
  
"What about us?" Mercury demanded. "What do we do?"  
  
"Fight them off the best you can and Sandrock will help," DreadScythe answered. "If not, then get the Hell out of here; save your asses!"  
  
DreadScythe ran off, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Venus in close tow. Sandrock took flight while three Cadspikes chased after the fleeing Gundam and two Scouts. Heavyarms, Altron, and Zero had all flown off by now, tailed by two Cadspikes each. One Cadspike had chased Deathscythe and Backlash and company. That left two Cadspikes for Mercury, Saturn, and Sandrock to play with. But along came another figure out of the ship.  
  
"Hullo there," the figure said. "So nice to meet you all."  
  
"Who are you?" Saturn asked bitterly.  
  
"I am Shawn Chamberlin," the figure responded. "The ultimate ruler of the British kingdom. I will be king of all the earth and space colonies."  
  
"No you won't!" Sandrock shouted, flying in a tackle at Shawn.  
  
Shawn twisted his arms around each other, brought the heels of his hands together, and roared. A blinding beam of bright blue shot forth from his hands, knocking into Sandrock. The suit was knocked out of the sky, and it fell on its back. Mercury rushed to his side immediately. Sandrock grunted in pain, Mercury on her knees inspecting him.  
  
"I'm fine!" Sandrock argued.  
  
"But you're hurt," Mercury told him, concern shimmering in her eyes.  
  
"I tell you," Sandrock strained getting up. "I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure you can help us in your condition," Sailor Saturn stepped in.  
  
"Please, don't make me repeat myself," Sandrock sighed. "Amy, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be okay, for real."  
  
Sailor Mercury was shocked that this suit knew her true identity. How did he know that? She decided to find out just what this guy was made of. She touched an earring on her right ear, and a transparent blue visor splayed across her eyes. Taking out her small Mercury computer, she furiously typed in command after command. Readings came up on the visor almost immediately, but what shocked her was that there was a human inside the suit. But the fact remained that she still didn't know who it was.  
  
Whoever it was, he was holding his own against this Shawn character. He [Sandrock] was just flinging the two large sickles that were originally attached to his back at Shawn. Shawn didn't expect them to come so fast, so they caught him off guard, slicing into his shoulders. Sandrock gave a cheer of victory, but that was cut short when Shawn removed the two curved blades from his shoulders and slung them back at their owner. But, Sandrock caught them with ease despite that they were returned in a manner to harm him. Shawn's cuts healed rather quickly, which surprised the Scouts and Sandrock. Mercury did a quick analyzation of Shawn. No weak points were registering, which worried Amy. If this guy doesn't have any weak points, then how are we going to beat him?   
  
Then, something did register. This being could be severely weakened by a direct blast from a large beam rifle or beam cannon. Mercury was relieved, but she was also very doubtful. While Sandrock battled with Shawn, flipping over him at the moment, Mercury looked around for a large beam cannon or beam rifle. Luckily, she found one! Zero had inadvertently dropped it when he picked up Sailor Moon. She ran off to get it, but was stopped by a Cadspike. It was a female, no doubt about that. She stared Mercury down with her piercing stone gray stare. Mercury used an old attack that was sure to trip this foe up.  
  
"Mercury Bubble Blast!" Sailor Mercury said.  
  
Soon, several large bubbles surrounded the Cadspike, rendering it immobile. As soon as Mercury went around this enemy, it broke free of its bubble prison and punched Mercury in the back of the head. Mercury cried out in pain, and fell to the ground. The Cadspike took this opportunity to pick up the beam cannon. But that was a mistake, for Sailor Saturn had aimed her most lethal attack, Silence Glaive Surprise. It hit the Cadspike dead on; the silence was unnerving, despite that it was only for a few seconds. Then a huge explosion was heard, and the beam cannon thrown skyward from the blast. Sailor Saturn jumped high into the air and retrieved the heavy weapon. She glanced at the spot where the Cadspike had originally been, and was now absent from. At least there was a chance to beat these minions. Sandrock was just thrown toward the two Scouts from being punched so hard by Shawn. Saturn tossed the large weapon onto Sandrock, the latter oomphing from the weight crashing onto his chest. Sandrock looked up at Sailor Saturn and took up the rifle. Standing himself, he aimed the weapon at Shawn and the oncoming Cadspike. Sandrock wasted no time firing. The golden beam raced toward the offenders, and met them head-on. Shawn screamed in agony, the beam tearing apart his body although not completely killing him. The beam however, instantly destroyed his partner in crime. Sven even got a taste of the beam's power, for it caught him in the chest and burned at his flesh, believe it or not.   
  
When Sandrock finally let go of the trigger, nothing remained of the Cadspike, but Shawn was very badly burned and bleeding all across his front side. His hair still remained in patches atop his head and his clothing was tattered and torn and blackened. For Sven, his injuries were more mild compared to Shawn's. He escaped with a burned chest, nothing more.  
  
"Shawn, come!" Sven barked.  
  
Shawn lifted what was left of his body off the ground and hobbled as fast as he could on a broken pair of legs. Sven met him halfway and carried the injured man to the ship. Before the two escaped into the confines of the ship, Sven turned to the Scouts and Sandrock, saying this,  
  
  
  
"I will not cease my efforts to kill you. Count on me coming back again and again, until you are dead. Do you understand?"  
  
"Leave now," Sandrock growled. "Or I'll kill you."  
  
Sandrock threatened Sven with the beam cannon, which was primed for a very destructive attack. Sven flared his nostrils, then retreated inside the ship. The doors clamped shut behind him, then the ship lifted off the ground, slowly. It pointed skyward then shot off, leaving a white trail of rocket exhaust behind.  
  
"Well, that's the end of that," Sandrock said, lowering the beam cannon.  
  
"Yes," Sailor Mercury agreed. "You're right about that, Quatre."  
  
"Huh?" Sandrock was taken aback. "Who's that?"  
  
"Don't try and fool me, because my scanner has told me it's you," Mercury giggled. "Besides, with these visors, I can see through your armor."  
  
"Dammit," Sandrock said simply. "Well, I bet you could guess who the rest of the suits are, and for that matter, who the Gundam's pilots are."  
  
"Well, I hadn't quite figured that you were the pilots of the Gundams," Mercury informed. "But, I thought you might have some connection with the Gundams."  
  
"Me and my big mouth," Sandrock shook its head. "Well, you got me."  
  
Sandrock de-transformed into Quatre. It was then that Mercury blushed at the sight of him, the quiet blonde at the table in the mall was in fact a strong warrior. It was turning her on, to put it bluntly.  
  
"A knight has shed his shining armor," Saturn commented. "Shall the princess kiss her hero, or will she just stand there like an embarrassed girl?"  
  
"I think I'll make that decision for her," Quatre replied.  
  
He stepped up to Mercury, took her head in his hands, closed his eyes and planted his lips on hers in a soft, tender kiss. Mercury, enthralled in the moment, closed her eyes as well, dropping her computer and wrapping her arms around Quatre's body.  
  
'I sure hope they get a room,' Saturn thought.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"Shit!" Backlash cursed.  
  
The Cadspike was blasting some silvery substance at him, and they were getting closer every time he tried. He almost hit the bike and the Scouts riding it. The pair of Gundams flying on either side of the vehicle were streaking along with it, over half the speed of sound. The jet engine had been going full afterburner the whole time it had left the park and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.   
  
Sailor Pluto dared to look back at their attacker. The Cadspike was flying as well, shooting its silvery blasts, trying to hit the bike or the Gundams protecting it. Then, the Cadspike had tried to hit Deathscythe, but missed at the last minute.  
  
"Oh no," Deathscythe yelled. "You do NOT shoot that silver shit at me!"  
  
"VERY FUNNY, MAXWELL!!" Backlash shouted.  
  
"SHUT UP," Deathscythe returned. "The girls might hear you!"  
  
"OH FUCK IT!" Backlash shouted. "I'm getting tired of this game, time to play with different rules and toys!"  
  
Backlash pulled out his shotguns, pumped them, and fired in tandem. The aqua bursts clipped their target, but not enough to deter it from continuing their pursuit. The Cadspike raced forward, trying in vain to reach the two Scouts and two Gundams. That's when they had to round a bend.   
  
"HANG ON!!" Backlash warned the Scouts.  
  
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE!!" Jupiter shouted back.  
  
She and Pluto clutched the bike where they could, and locked their legs against the metal frame of the bike. The two Gundams left the bike and flew hard in front of the bike, then banked sharply to the right, into the shadow of a building. There they waited for the Cadspike to round the corner. They levitated by their rockets ready to chase their enemy. They saw the bike flash by, then they saw a flash of silver and took off, rockets giving all they had at full throttle. Both suits were gaining on the Cadspike, so they formulated a plan.  
  
"Duo!" Backlash called. "When we get near enough to him, take a swing at him with your scythe and lead him into the sky. Then, I'll come up behind him and blast his brains out. How's that for a battle plan?"  
  
"Sounds good, Pyrone," Deathscythe answered back. "Here I go!"  
  
"Give him Hell," Backlash encouraged.  
  
Deathscythe flew off, drawing his scythe. Backlash took out one shotgun and loaded a black shell into it; the black shell signifies a miniature nuclear explosion is harnessed inside the casing of the shell. If Pyrone fires this shell, he would have to do it in a place away from civilization, hence the sky would be the perfect place to shoot this round off.  
  
Deathscythe was pacing the Cadspike, flying at the same speed, but just behind his field of view. Deathscythe tapped the Cadspike on the shoulder, the latter wheeled around to see his intruder. Deathscythe ignited his scythe's blade, and swung the bright green blade at the Cadspike. The enemy dodged, just as Backlash anticipated, then Deathscythe pulled skyward. Unfortunately, the Cadspike did not follow.  
  
Backlash cursed, a very dirty curse. He summoned Deathscythe over the intercom, telling him to repeat the plan. Deathscythe, high above the streets, dove at the Cadspike at full throttle. Deathscythe slammed so hard into his target, that the Cadspike did a faceplant right into the pavement. The Cadspike rolled over and over on the asphalt, the jetbike out of sight. It raised its head, seeing that its target had gotten away. That's when the two Gundams landed behind it, scythes drawn. The Cadspike lifted itself to its feet, facing the two Gundams. Backlash leaned toward Deathscythe and whispered,  
  
"What should we do with this mofo?"  
  
"I'd take pleasure in guttin' this boy," Deathscythe answered.  
  
"I thought so," Backlash acknowledged. "All right, let's go."  
  
They ran at the Cadspike, scythes held behind them in pre-strike position. The Cadspike ducked under Backlash's scythe, but it did not escape Deathscythe's double scythe onslaught. It got stabbed in the back and the left ribs, the blades deep in its silvery flesh. Deathscythe wrenched the weapons from the Cadspike, but no bleeding was eminent from the wounds. The Cadspike did a flying kick at Deathscythe, but flew over the suit. Backlash came behind it, swung its scythe, but it met wall instead of Cadspike. The Cadspike high-kicked Backlash in the faceplate, the suit reeled backwards. Then, the Cadspike wrenched the scythe out of the wall, holding it.  
  
Deathscythe tackled the Cadspike with a rocket-assisted flight. The Cadspike dropped the scythe in its surprise. Backlash retrieved the weapon and swung it down on the pinned Cadspike's neck. The triple blades sliced through the foe's neck, but it did not completely sever the head from the body. Still, no bleeding, but a very thin piece of neck, about an inch wide and a half-inch thick, at the back of his neck kept it connected. The Cadspike had trouble getting its head on straight enough to where it could fight again. But, every time it had its head up, it would flop down again.  
  
"This is going to be interesting," Backlash huffed, getting into a crouch.  
  
"Yep," Deathscythe returned, also crouching and crossing both scythes in front of himself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The bike turned a one-eighty and fired its main engine again, slowing rapidly. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Pluto were watching the fight between the Gundams and the Cadspike. It seemed the Gundams would win, but not without some help. Pluto had an idea.  
  
"Jupiter, drive this thing at the Cadspike as fast as you can," she ordered.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Jupiter asked curiously.  
  
"I'm going to take this Cadspike's head off," Pluto answered.  
  
"Oh!" Jupiter brightened. "Great idea!"  
  
Jupiter revved the jet engine, then stepped on the shift lever. Twisting the throttle full back, the bike shot forward. Jupiter drove straight at the Cadspike, then she turned the bike to aim at the Cadspikes right side. Pluto yelled out to get the Cadspike's attention, the Gundams flying upward fast to get out of the way. It worked, the Cadspike looked straight at her and the Gundams were high above the scene, watching. Pluto got on her knees, held her staff like a baseball bat, and swung hard at the Cadspike's head. The plan worked, for the head rolled down the street like a football.   
  
Deathscythe, who rocketed skyward to meet with Backlash, grabbed the body. When he reached his partner, Backlash pointed toward the heavens, Deathscythe flew higher. Backlash pulled out the shotgun with the black shell, aimed it at the body. Deathscythe let go and flew off. The body fell, from its original position, but Backlash fired and hit the target, setting off a huge explosion that knocked both Gundams out of the sky.  
  
They fell to the earth, and bounced when they contacted the ground. The Scouts had just reached their position and jumped off the bike to be at their sides. Pluto sat next to Backlash as the suit raised itself to a sitting position, sighing roughly from the pain. Jupiter knelt by Deathscythe, the latter milking it for all it was worth.  
  
"Are you hurt?" Jupiter asked concernedly.  
  
"Oh! Ow! The pain!" Deathscythe moaned. "I don't think I'll make it! Lita, please-"  
  
"Lita?" Jupiter said. "How did you know my name was Lita?"  
  
"Oops," Deathscythe replied.  
  
"You idiot!" Backlash said, smacking Deathscythe on the head with his scythe staff.  
  
"Duo? Is that you?" Jupiter questioned.  
  
"No, I am Deathscythe!" Deathscythe said quickly. "I am not Duo Maxwell, the Great Destroyer!"  
  
"How did you know his last name?" Jupiter interrogated. "Or, his nickname, for that matter?"  
  
"Well-you see-" Deathscythe tried to make something up.  
  
"No point," Backlash said. "They know."  
  
"DUO!!" Jupiter yelled.  
  
With a sigh, Deathscythe de-transformed into Duo, and Backlash into Pyrone. Pluto gasped, Pyrone just stood up.  
  
"Well, who did you expect?" he asked. "The Easter bunny?"  
  
"No, but I-" Pluto flustered, blushing.  
  
"Surprised Lita?" Duo asked.  
  
"I'll say!" Jupiter exclaimed. "What else can I do, though? I can't kill you, because you're too cute to kill," she blushed, "but, I can't strangle you, that would hurt you too much-not to say that you couldn't handle it-"  
  
"Lita, shut up," Duo laughed. "You talk too much. And besides, what's your angle?"  
  
He gave her a very analyzing stare. By now, she was so red in the face, she could pass for a tomato. Again, she fumbled for words, trying to say something that would make her seem intimidating. Duo just walked up to her, placed one arm around her back, one behind her head, and dipped her. She gave a gasp of surprise, but soon found herself lost in the passionate reverie of Duo's kiss. Jupiter responded by wrapping her arms around Duo, holding herself closer to her love. Pyrone looked over to Pluto and cocked his head in the direction of the kids.  
  
"Whadda ya say?" Pyrone smiled. "Shall we show 'em how it's done?"  
  
"You bet," Pluto giggled, locking lips with Pyrone.  
  
She too wrapped her arms around her man like Jupiter had done Duo. As her eyes closed, her grip on her staff loosened and it clattered to the ground. Pluto bent one leg at the knee, raising herself higher on one leg to get more pleasure out of the kiss.  
  
'Please, oh please, oh please,' Pyrone begged mentally. 'Please God, let me have some action tonight! I don't think I can take much more of this without poppin' a bone!'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The three Gundams carrying the three Scouts were roaring through the city, the Cadspikes streaking after them. Thus far, the Cadspikes hadn't done anything but chase the six.  
  
"Zero! What are we going to do to shake these guys off of us?" Heavyarms called out.  
  
"Oh, so that's your name," Sailor Moon gushed. "Zero!"  
  
"Quiet," Zero said. "In answer to your question, I don't know!"  
  
"Oh," Heavyarms said. "How about you, Altron, thought of anything?"  
  
"No!" Altron spat. "I have to deal with carrying this onna!"  
  
"ONNA!?!" Sailor Mars was in a fury. "I'm the Sailor Soldier of Fire, asshole!"  
  
"Good for you," Altron huffed. "Heavyarms, you have to have something. You have the most ammo out of us all!"  
  
"I know, but without Quat-" he paused. "Uh, Sandrock, I can't organize a battle plan."  
  
"That's fine, we can formulate one together," Zero spoke. "Sailor Moon, is it?"  
  
"Mm hmm," Sailor Moon nodded.  
  
"Can you think of anything that we could do in our present situation?" Zero asked his cargo. "I take it you are the leader of the Sailor Scouts."  
  
"Well, I don't know any battle plans or anything like that," Sailor Moon explained.  
  
"I do," Sailor Neptune said. "Heavyarms, turn us around and take one of your Gatlings out. I'll wrap my leg around yours and put an arm behind your neck to secure myself to you. That way, you and I can fire at our enemies."  
  
"Sounds good," Heavyarms agreed. "Altron, you hold onto Sailor Mars like you are now and use your tail stinger guns. Zero, find a place to get away from here with Sailor Moon; she's the one they're after, anyway."  
  
"How do you figure?" Zero asked.  
  
"That Sven character we took care of had it in for the Scouts," Heavyarms explained.  
  
"I see," Zero responded. "Okay, I'm off. But I'll be back to fight later."  
  
Zero pulled skyward, Sailor Moon squealing in fright. Heavyarms turned himself around, his right arm taken up by a Gatling. Altron, holding Sailor Mars by the waist, turned his tail stingers up. Mars just prepared herself to attack the Cadspikes.  
  
"Remember," Heavyarms reminded. "No mercy!"  
  
"We are righteous," Altron proclaimed. "We will conquer this battlefield."  
  
"Yes," Sailor Neptune agreed. "Let's smash these dirt bags."  
  
All the sudden a gigantic flame, a tidal wave, and green and golden streaks were racing towards the Cadspikes. Off the bat, the silver monsters didn't know what was happening until one of them was stricken and killed by the flurry of attacks. Soon, after another was killed, the rest started to dodge the attacks. Now, it became harder for the Gundams and Scouts to take care of these chrome crooks. Then, it became pure Hell.  
  
The Cadspikes, starting to wise up, started to formulate their own battle plans. They started springing off of the buildings like Spider Man. Now the Scouts and Gundams couldn't even fire at the Cadspikes, for fear of knocking down the buildings inadvertently or destroying innocent lives. In short, they couldn't do a damn thing about it.  
  
"I think we have a problem," Heavyarms spoke.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Zero had landed on the nearest rooftop, peering over the edge at the situation his allies were in. He saw the streaks of blue and black flash by, followed by a glimpse of silver blurs chasing the other streaks down. Inside the suit, Heero growled in disapproval; without his Buster rifle, he was useless in a long-range combat. Why he didn't attempt to disable the Cadspikes with his beam saber now was beyond his comprehension at the moment. The Perfect Soldier wanted so badly to fight, being deprived of the one thing he knew how to do best for one year was starting to eat away at his mentality. Pretty soon, he would be as soft as every other human. Heero shuddered at the thought.  
  
"Are you cold?" a voice invaded Heero's thoughts.   
  
"No," the stoic reply to the voice.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Zero turned in time to see Sailor Moon shrug her shoulders and walk away from him. She stopped about five yards away, back turned to him, when she sighed darkly. Heero sensed something was wrong, no one that beautiful should have to sigh like she were in pain.   
  
'Dammit,' he thought. 'Remember your mission, Heero. You haven't the time to involve yourself with her anyway, so stop kidding yourself.'  
  
Heero mentally slapped himself for that last thought. What he wanted more than anything was to hold this sweet angel in his arms and love her. He felt nothing but compassion for Serena, ever since he met her at the mall. Then again, there might be a catch to this girl. Why did she seem to come off as a bubbly, exuberant girl yet be so pained as a Sailor Soldier? What secret was she hiding? Heero wanted to find out, but to do so as Zero would be interesting.  
  
"Why did you sigh?" Zero spoke to Sailor Moon.  
  
Surprised by this sudden opening of conversation, Sailor Moon just wheeled around to face Zero. The soft features of her face were alight with the glow from the moon overhead and the glare of city lights. Heero wanted so badly to kiss her, yet his stoic demeanor interfered with his human side. Instead of just quell the feelings of love, compassion, and sympathy, his soldier mentality brutally squashed it all. Heero wasn't quite himself, not now and not ever again; he would be a different person. But not yet.  
  
"I was just thinking of my lost love," Sailor Moon replied.  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Zero voiced. "Would you care to elaborate?"  
  
"Well, I met this guy a few years back," Sailor Moon started. "He was gorgeous! At first, he seemed to hate me. But soon, he drew closer and closer to me as time passed. We even found out that we had a daughter in the future."  
  
That statement didn't surprise Heero; a beautiful girl like that would never be without someone in a relationship. But, why did she kiss him outside the mall this evening? That question would not even have to be voiced, for Sailor Moon continued.  
  
"But, he's . . . he's dying. After our last threat, a remainder of that evil embedded itself in the Earth. Since he and the Earth share a bond, he decided to take that evil into himself rather than it being in the Earth. Now, that evil has . . . has . . . turned him into a withered, old man. There's no sense of us being together again, so we broke off our relationship. Even Sailor Pluto didn't see this coming. (sigh) I guess the future is never really set in stone, huh Zero?"  
  
"Hn," was what the suit said. "That certainly is a sad story."  
  
"Yeah, but the good news is that I've found another! He's just as cute, and he's very mysterious, but he can be very romantic at times. He can kiss so well!"  
  
Heero smiled inside, for the first time in a long time. He felt so good to be cared about by a girl like this. He couldn't stand being in his suit anymore, he needed to kiss this girl before he lost his mind. Hence, Zero de-transformed right in front of Sailor Moon. Heero didn't care, it wasn't a very good secret to keep anyway. Sailor Moon gasped, shocked that the guy whom she was just speaking of was the guy who rescued her from those monsters. Heero still put on his Perfect Soldier face, though, not knowing how to react to this girl.  
  
Sailor Moon, however, was totally unprepared for this. Trembling, her hands were covering her open mouth, while her eyes were wider than saucers. She slowly lowered her hands, trying to find the initiative to speak. But all she could do was open and close her mouth. Funny enough, she was holding her breath and didn't even realize it. When she couldn't breath, she started to fan herself air, turning blue. Heero rushed to her side just before she collapsed to the gravel on the rooftop. She finally began to breathe again, as Heero caught her in his strong grip.  
  
Staring into her deep blue orbs, Heero found himself swimming in a pool of fantasies. He saw himself with this girl, holding her delicate hand in his own strong one, running and laughing in a field of flowers. Then, flashes of a life with her started to run through his mind: going on a romantic evening with her, proposing marriage, getting married, caressing her sweet skin as he gently made love to her on their honeymoon.  
  
No words passed between these two. Both just closed their eyes, and claimed each others lips, lost in a world of passion. She reached up and stroked his cheek while he slowly ran a finger down her side, subtlely passing his digit over her soft breast.  
  
They continued to kiss, for quite some time. Neither wanted to break this tender gesture of love, nor did they want to break their probing of each others body. Heero had never felt so strongly about someone in his life. Now he, the cold-hearted soldier who knew no emotions, knew what this feeling called love felt like.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
"We have a big problem!" Heavyarms grunted, dodging attacks from the Cadspikes.  
  
"Then why don't we fix it?" Altron snarled.   
  
Altron just took a hit in the back, meant for Sailor Mars. He yelled out in surprise at the force behind the blast. Heavyarms and Sailor Neptune were holding their own, flying backwards still but they were attempting to annihilate the threat without interfering with innocent lives. As they moved deeper into the city, that task became even more difficult. Heavyarms had to seriously limit his firing, else he would probably destroy something that was not his enemy. But, this is where he finds out what his suit can really do.  
  
"I wish I had some sort of targeting device that was accurate," Heavyarms voiced.  
  
At that same moment, a transparent, complex network of diagrams, graphs, measurements, and crosshairs invaded Trowa's field of vision. Soon, all this combined into a single chart to Trowa's left eye. The right eye was tracking the crosshair dancing around, trying to find a target. A rapid sequence of beeping was heard, then it sped up and became higher in pitch. Soon, it locked on to a pair of Cadspikes with a growling buzz. Trowa knew what to do now. He willed his missiles loose, and they took flight. The many trails of rocket smoke were seen concentrating on one point and then they scattered. The Cadspikes attempted to dodge the missiles, even sacrificed their partners to save themselves. Four balls of bright orange light glared off the windows of buildings, and even blew some windows apart. The two originally targeted Cadspikes were still safe and sound, but the other four were gone.  
  
'Well,' Trowa chuckled mentally. 'It seems there's more than meets the eye.'  
  
"Impressive," Sailor Neptune said.  
  
"Thanks," Heavyarms said back. "I thought I'd try to save all the fireworks for last."  
  
"Well, Heavyarms," Altron sneered. "It seems your fireworks didn't work very well."  
  
"Nobody's perfect," Heavyarms replied.  
  
"I have and idea!" Sailor Mars piped. "Neptune, attack them with your Neptune Deep Submerge so they'll get distracted, and when you're doing that I'll throw a huge flame. Heavyarms, my flame will be hot enough to expand your bullets to knock out these metalheads for good, so fire your bullets into my flame."  
  
"Sounds good," Heavyarms agreed. "Neptune?"  
  
"Let's do it!" Neptune shouted.  
  
Sailor Mars concentrated with all that her priestess training taught her, seeing herself making the monstrous flame. Her eyes were squeezed tight together, all her mental focus on creating the giant flame. All the screams and shouts from the other three warriors was shut out of her mind, her concentration trained on this one task.  
  
Suddenly, her eyes flashed open and she screamed, "NOW!!"  
  
Neptune geared up for her Neptune Deep Submerge, then let loose the power. The Cadspikes were indeed distracted by this oncoming attack and they dodged it easily. That's when Mars let loose her flame.  
  
"Mars Fire IGNITE!!"  
  
The flame shot from her fingertips, erupting into a tsunami of an inferno that blocked the Cadspikes from seeing that they were about to be slaughtered. Heavyarms fired his Gatlings from his left arm, the bullets passing through the wall of flame seemingly harmless. But, the fire was so intense in heat that the rapidly traveling bullets expanded to many times their original size; these bullets could not have been dodged so easily anymore. As the metallic projectiles pierced the flaming tsunami, the four Cadspikes had horrified expressions on their faces right before they were completely destroyed by the tank shells of bullets aimed at them. Chrome shards scattered through the air, bouncing off buildings and tinkling like shattered glass on the pavement below.   
  
The Scouts and Gundams had won, the six Cadspikes gone forever. Heavyarms slowed his flight and landed, placing Sailor Neptune on her feet for the first time in fifteen minutes of being airborne. Altron did the same nearby, placing Sailor Mars delicately on her feet. Sailor Mars was taken aback by this gesture and absentmindedly thanked Altron for doing this. Altron, without thinking to be nasty to her to mask his true identity, just said,  
  
"Your welcome, onna."  
  
"I knew it!" Sailor Mars declared. "Wufei! How nice of you to keep this secret from me. I bet you thought it real convincing, too, didn't you?"  
  
"I have no idea of who you are speaking of, onna," Altron gently said. "But this Wufei is not I. I am Nataku, the kindred spirit of the dragon. I protect those who are too weak to fight on their own, like yourself."  
  
"I know a lot of people and what they are like, Wufei. So I know it's you; stop denying it already and come out of that armor."  
  
"If he's Wufei, then you must be Trowa," Sailor Neptune deduced.  
  
AN: For a soundtrack effect, play the Main Title from the Terminator 2 soundtrack.  
  
Heavyarms stood steadfast, not saying a word, just staring down at the Scout he had carried through the city. The hard glare of Heavyarms' eyes didn't faze Sailor Neptune, but just made her more comfortable to know that under that exterior was the man she had grown to love in only one night of being together. Trowa had similar feelings about Neptune, knowing full well who she was already. He stared deep into those liquid aqua eyes, dreaming of how it might feel to see those eyes up close.  
  
Well, he dreamt no more. De-transforming, Trowa had exposed both himself and Wufei (despite the fact that Wufei was still in disguise). Trowa didn't care, though. He just wanted to kiss Michelle/Sailor Neptune, and that he would do. Pulling her into a soft embrace, he ran his hand through her aqua hair, stopping at the back of her head, the other he placed at her waist. Then, they slowly closed their eyes and locked lips in a tender, passionate kiss.  
  
The other two warriors stared wide-eyed at their colleagues. Wufei was aghast that Trowa was showing a sign of weakness, or rather, giving in to the hormone-driven thoughts of a teenage male that never was supposed to be seen. Sailor Mars was even more aghast that she was right. Maybe this priestess thing was coming in handy after all.  
  
"Aren't you going to kiss me?" Sailor Mars asked coyly.  
  
Like a machine, Altron turned its head slowly, glaring at her, "How do you propose I do that when I'm locked inside this suit?"  
  
"De-transform, honey," Mars answered with attitude. "You're gonna need to."  
  
The metal armor seemed to metal away, and Wufei emerged from it. Much to Mars' surprise, Wufei was smiling.  
  
'So he does care,' she chortled to herself. 'I am going to have fun with him.'  
  
"Is it just me," Wufei began, smiling, "or did you offer a kissing opportunity?"  
  
"Lay it on me hottie!" Mars almost pleaded.  
  
Wufei found himself pressing his lips to her own softer, sweeter ones. She parted hers and, using only her lips, 'bit' down on his upper lip. The feeling sent a shiver down his spine, his teenage desires stirring inside his body. Now he wanted to take her, with every fiber in his body aching to be inside her and pleasing his instinctive desires.  
  
'Soon,' he reminded himself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Shit!" DreadScythe shouted.  
  
"What?" Venus asked, panting.  
  
"They're gaining on us! We have to get to the car, fast!"  
  
"I just hope you aren't going to make me drive an automatic," Uranus called.  
  
"Automatic?" Tre scoffed. "Fuck, no! Automatic is for pussies; guy pussies, that is!"  
  
DreadScythe was running along with Uranus and Venus, through the thick part of the woods where the Cadspikes couldn't fly. The three had reached the car. Uranus slid across the hood to the driver's side, Venus popped into the passenger seat, and DreadScythe latched onto the roof on all fours, like an animal ready to pounce; he faced toward the rear as Uranus started the car's engine, shifted into first, and put the pedal to the metal.  
  
The Cadspikes finally emerged from the woods as the car pulled off, DreadScythe sent them a 'going away present': a blast from his rifle. Several trees cracked and splintered, bent in half. The three chrome cronies barely escaped the blast. They stared after the car, then shot after it.  
  
"Uranus!" DreadScythe yelled into the driver side window, over the roar of the engine.  
  
"What!" Uranus yelled back.  
  
"No matter what, you keep driving and get out of the sight of the Cadspikes!"  
  
"What are you telling me?" Uranus interrogated.  
  
"You're not going to sacrifice yourself for us!" Venus shouted. "Are you?"  
  
Her eyes were wide and soulful, looking at DreadScythe through the closed window. DreadScythe didn't have a chance to answer, the Cadspikes were on their asses. The three assailants were shooting silvery darts at the suit and the car. DreadScythe tried his best to dodge the projectiles, but he couldn't keep it up forever. He then had an idea.  
  
"Make a sharp turn at this next right!"  
  
Uranus obeyed. She jerked the wheel hard right, sending the car into a power slide, then righted the car's steering and drove forward. The Cadspikes shot past the turn, unseen for about five minutes. The whole time DreadScythe had his rifle at the ready, the energy brimming over the barrel. He jerked his head this way and that, searching for the metallic enemies.   
  
Venus was also looking for them, her face and hands pressed against the window and scanning the scenery as it passed. Uranus was focused on driving and hadn't time to search.  
  
"Where are you, you sons of bitches, you?" DreadScythe mumbled under his breath.  
  
As Venus was looking, a silver fist punched through the window, shattering the glass into millions of fragments. Venus screamed, alarmed by the suddenness of the attack. DreadScythe reacted immediately, drawing the black sword from the holster on his back and plunging the blade deep into the Cadspike. The latter was knocked off the vehicle easily by this attack and was run over, crushed onto the pavement.   
  
The second one was latched onto the driver's side of the car and made it's move without DreadScythe noticing. It attempted to punch in the driver side window, but all that happened was the glass crunched and spider-webbed from the impact but no shards flew and the window stayed together. Uranus was surprised that it didn't break, but that didn't stop her from swinging the door open and hitting the Cadspike square in the jaw. The Cadspike almost fell off, but it pulled a T-1000, and formed its hands into a pair of hooks and drove the hooks into the body of the car. DreadScythe heard this and fired the rifle, disintegrating the Cadspike completely; no trace of the enemy was left except for a piece of the hook left in the side of the car.  
  
The third one was crawling up the passenger side when it saw Venus stick her head out of the broken window, her blonde hair flying wildly everywhere in the slipstream. Venus' lips were suddenly covered with a bright orange shade and she winked at the Cadspike. The metal assailant didn't know what to make of this when it saw Venus kiss her fingers, and blow. A small orange heart was seen above her open palm. Then things got interesting.  
  
"Venus Love and Beauty SHOCK!!" Venus shouted.  
  
She threw the heart at the Cadspike, the energy found its target and ripped through the Cadspikes body, effectively slicing it in two. DreadScythe and Venus both thought the Cadspike was defeated, but both changed their minds when each felt a hand grab their arms. DreadScythe had to think fast.  
  
"Venus, get your head back in the car!" he ordered.  
  
She obeyed, and DreadScythe gave new orders to Uranus. "STOP!!"  
  
Uranus stomped on the brakes, sending the two halves of the Cadspike and DreadScythe flying off the vehicle. DreadScythe fired his rockets and landed softly in the glow of the headlights. The two halves of the Cadspike rolled far down the pavement, then assimilated into each other, becoming one again. DreadScythe de-transformed into Sailor Universe.   
  
"I have an idea, metal man," Sailor Universe offered. "You and I duke it out, fist to fist, no shooting or swords. What do you say?"  
  
The Cadspike nodded in agreement, raising its metal fists. Sailor Universe removed his sword holster, his scythe strap, his trench coat, and his shirt. After Sailor Universe finished removing all the aforementioned articles, he raised his own fists.   
  
Sailor Venus couldn't help but be intrigued by the chiseled body of Sailor Universe. His muscles had a slight bulge to them, but they showed through so well; each sinew seemed to have its own contour against the bronzed skin of Universe's body. His abs were a perfect six-pack configuration, his pecs flat and densely packed.  
  
"Let's go!" Universe taunted.  
  
The Cadspike slowly 'hopped' to meet Universe, each rolling their heads and circling the other. Universe threw the first punch, a hard jab to the Cadspikes nose. Universe was taken aback by how hard the Cadspikes' nose was, and thus shook out his left hand. The Cadspike threw a right cross, Universe ducked, and then he used his position to throw a hard right uppercut. The Cadspike was thrown backward, off balance by the force of the blow. As the Cadspike flew backward, Universe moved underneath him and kneed the enemy in the back, cracking the metal spine.   
  
The Cadspike fell to the ground, back arched, legs spastically kicking out. Universe kicked the Cadspike in the head, the Cadspike took the hard blow. Universe jumped up and landed on the Cadspike, elbow first. The blow hit the victim in the stomach, causing the victim to sit bolt upright. Universe sat upright, then threw a left jab into the Cadspikes face, several times. This didn't seem to be working, so Universe jumped up, willed his scythe and sword over, ignited the former, and swung both weapons at the same target, going in opposite directions and slicing the Cadspikes head off.  
  
Universe, seeing a perfect opportunity, kicked the head like a football into a field goal. Then, the body disintegrated. Sailor Venus ran to Sailor Universe, wrapped her small arms around his neck in a hug. Universe wrapped his arms around her slim body once he had dropped his weapons. Both were laughing out of joy that they had defeated the Cadspikes. Without even realizing it, they stopped, stared into each other's eyes and locked lips in a very passionate and loving kiss. Both have been longing for this for over many millennia; to be in each other's arms again was a very relieving feeling, now that they had each other. The kiss would have gone on all night, if Uranus hadn't cleared her throat.  
  
"Tre, Mina, I think it's time we headed back," she smiled.  
  
"How-how-" Universe stammered.  
  
"Never mind," Uranus laughed. "Get in the car, I'll drive."  
  
Universe de-transformed into Tre Young, the shed clothing of Sailor Universe disappearing and Tre's clothing somehow coming back onto his body. Sailor Venus walked with his arm wrapped around her small shoulders as they headed for the car; she couldn't be happier. And Tre, well, for once after the death of his former girlfriend, Tre actually smiled like a happy baby.  
  
Static Scythe: I finished the f-king chapter! WOOHOO!! OK, world, let it be known that I have written a long chapter that totally sucks! Just kidding! Review please! Peace. 


	21. The Future

Chapter 21 - The Future  
  
Shawn's body was literally trashed. His skin was about ready to peel off, his face deformed, his hair gone, and his bones underneath were cracked, broken, splintered, and crushed. How could such a small weapon do this to him? He was supposed to be invincible! That deal he made with Sven, he screwed himself.  
  
"That is why you musn't underestimate your enemies, Shawn," Sven said.  
  
Shawn just looked at the Dark Lord from his laying position on the lander. How could he say that at a time like this?  
  
"I guess I'll have to fix you up," Sven sighed. "I need you after all."  
  
The Dark Lord concentrated hard on a small dense mass that was appearing in front of his face. It had a bright glow, almost like a sparkle, then Shawn felt himself becoming whole again as his body was engulfed in the sparkle. After it dissapated, he sat up and felt all around his body. His head was full of hair, has skin felt smooth and strong, and he kept patting all over his being. When he came to his crotch, feeling all three important pieces were present, he thanked Sven like he was a god.   
  
Soon, the small beaten landing craft docked with the cruiser. The loud clicks and clangs resounded within the smaller craft until it gave one last arrested jolt. Then, the door slid open, revealing the metallic crew of the cruiser. Shawn and Sven exited the lander and headed toward the flight deck. Once there, they flew back into outer space with the same white flash enveloping the cruiser.  
  
"We have gone through the time rift," the head scientist proclaimed.  
  
"Captain," Shawn called. "Set a course for home."  
  
"Roger," the tinny voice replied.  
  
"Sir," one of the female officers said. "It seems that six months have gone by since we left."  
  
"What did you say?" Shawn asked slowly.  
  
"I said, that it seems six months have gone by since the last time we were in the After Colony time period."  
  
Shawn's face suddenly broke into a delirious smile. Six months! His Gundam was complete! But what else had taken place over the last six months?  
  
The large videoscreen on the flight deck suddenly glowed to life. The face of King Charles appeared on it, looking quite relieved. His eyes shone with a victorious zeal, as did his smile.  
  
"Ah," the king laughed. "So, you're all alive, eh, Shawn?"  
  
"Why yes, your majesty," Shawn bowed. "And, may I say it is good to see your face again my liege."  
  
"Thank you, I must say the same. We've been searching the entire galaxy it seems. Where did you go?"  
  
Shawn smiled, "Back in time."  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"You heard me correct. Somehow, as we were chasing the Gundams, we came across a rift in time itself as we entered the atmosphere and were sent back in time. Funny thing, we were only there for a few days and six months has passed here."  
  
"Well, on behalf of all the conquered colonies," the king chuckled, "welcome home."  
  
Shawn thought he was dreaming. Did he say all the conquered colonies? Did they capture the colonies? What a day! Shawn could only hope the Gundams would break now that their homes were taken over.  
  
"Your majesty, I have a humble request," Shawn informed.  
  
"What is your request?" the king inquired.  
  
"May I speak to my fiancee?"  
  
"Absolutely! She's been crying here eyes out since you were reported missing."  
  
The screen blurred, then, the ecstatic face of Elizabeth appeared. She was still crying but her tears were of joy. Her eyes were still glistening with fresh tears, the tip of her nose bright red. Shawn couldn't help but cry himself, he missed that face so much.  
  
"My dearest princess," Shawn croaked.  
  
"My handsome pilot," she half-laughed, half-cried.  
  
Nothing was said between the two, they just looked at each other. The British colony was just within sight, and getting closer by the minute. All the sudden, a loud warbling tone sounded in the flight deck. Shawn went to see what was the matter.  
  
"What is it?" he demanded.  
  
"It is the Gundams' shuttle, sir," the ensign replied.  
  
"Get me my Xonyx," Shawn seethed.  
  
"Sir!" the officer said.  
  
The Gundam came rocketing out of the colony hangar, completed and fearsome. It hovered above the cruiser, waiting for its pilot to occupy the cockpit. Shawn quickly dressed in his spacesuit and jammed on a helmet. He leapt into the upper airlock, waited for it to clear, then he bolted outside and into the Gundam.  
  
Once inside, he was greeted with the bright glow of monitors situated all around him. He contacted a battalion of mobile suits and they flew off, trailing the Xonyx.  
  
'Not this time, Tre Young,' Shawn thought, acid dripping off every word.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Let's go, dammit!" Tre hissed.  
  
He was sitting outside Mina's window, waiting for her to leave a note to her parents telling them to not worry about her and that she would miss them. Unbeknownst to Tre, she was packing most of her clothes ("I'll buy you some new ones in the future!") as a reminder of her life in the past. She attempted to squeeze the last dress into the already overstuffed duffel bag. Artemis sat there on his haunches, watching the blonde girl hurriedly pack her things.  
  
"So you're leaving the past, huh, Mina?" the cat asked.  
  
"Yeah," Mina answered. "And you're coming with!"  
  
"WHAT!!! Whoa, hold on, Mina!" Artemis was surprised.  
  
"Look, Serena is bringing Luna," she soothed. "Besides, I need you in the future."  
  
"(sigh) Guess I'm still going to be your guide after all," the cat said.  
  
"Come on," Mina groaned at the zipper.  
  
As she was about to give up, Tre's hands flattened the zipper's track and Mina slid the fastener across the track, closing the bag. Tre immediately scooped up the bag and dropped it out the window. It landed with a loud whump! and all three winced in the anticipation of someone waking up. However, nothing in the house moved.  
  
"We gotta get going," Tre whispered. "We're already behind schedule!"  
  
"Well a girl needs a few things to take with her, you know?" she retorted.  
  
"No, you don't need all those things!" Tre hissed through gritted teeth.  
  
"But I can't just leave it here," Mina whined. "Who would wear them?"  
  
Heaving a heavy sigh of hopelessness, Tre covered his face with one hand and shook his head. Peeking through the cracks of his fingers, he spied the unamused face of his girlfriend. Taking her hand, he forcefully led her to the window and swept her off her feet and jumped out. As they departed through the opening, Tre's hand shot through and grabbed the scruff of Artemis' neck. They all loaded up onto the bike and sped off.  
  
"I hope to God we still make it out of here on time," Tre voiced.  
  
Mina gave an exasperated sigh, and pouted. Artemis just laid idly on Mina's lap.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Nice digs you got here," Duo said with a grin plastered on his face.  
  
"Shut up, Duo," Lita retorted from the bathroom.  
  
She was scooping the last of her toiletries into her travel bag, which was almost everything in her bathroom. She knew they were pressed for time, but hopefully they could still make it before the hole closed up forever. Trista's words still rang in her head.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Well, now we all know who each other is?" Trista asked the group.  
  
Each Sailor Scout was wrapped in the arms of their respective Gundam pilot, their identities no longer secret. Trowa and Michelle were holding each other very close, their eyes closed with Trowa resting his head on Michelle's. Tre and Mina couldn't break eye contact with each other, they were that desperate for each other's touch. Trista and Pyrone were playing grab ass with one another, behind their backs. Quatre and Amy just stood there, Quatre's arm around Amy's waist, and Amy leaning against Quatre with one arm across his chest and one around his waist. Heero and Serena were still kissing, their tongues wrestling to get into the other's mouth. Duo and Lita had to sit on the ground in order to kiss for Lita was much taller than her new boyfriend in her high heeled boots. Wufei and Raye, well, let's just say that they would get the low-down on what was happening at that moment some other time...when they weren't busy behind that tree.  
  
"That's a given," Tre piped.  
  
"Well, I suppose you would have a good explanation for why you're all here," Uranus said. "After all, it isn't for any random reason, right? There has to be some basis."  
  
"Yes," Pyrone jumped in. "Fate: the ruling force behind any unknown occurance."  
  
"We aren't here by choice," Tre aided. "Rather a chance that fate caught up to us and decided that the bond between us all was inevitable and therefore necessary. Thank God we're all subjects of fate!"  
  
This raised a few giggles. Then Wufei and Raye finally joined the group, their hair disorderly and clothing wrinkled, but their goofy expressions told everyone that it was worth it. The Tre added, pointing to Wufei and Raye,  
  
"And here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about!"  
  
An uproar of laughter, and Wufei's battle cry as he chased Tre down with his drawn katana. Eventually, Wufei caught his prey and demanded an apology. However, it was impossible for Tre to do so because he was laughing too hard to apologize and Wufei just stopped. Tre got up again, and listened to the end of the conversation.  
  
"I just found out," Trista said seriously, "that there is only one more tear in the fabric of time that will take us out of here and into the future you pilots know."  
  
"When you say us-" Trowa began.  
  
"-it means the Scouts are coming with us pilots," Pyrone finished.  
  
"How?" Heero querried, releasing himself from his new girlfriend's lips.  
  
"I don't know," Duo intervened. "But, if worse comes worse, they could just sit on our laps the whole way there!"  
  
"DUO!" everyone shouted in unison.  
  
"No, if there aren't enough seats, we guys can hang out in our Gundams," Tre suggested.  
  
"Where's the fun in that?" Mina pouted.  
  
"Oh ligthen up, Mina," Serena said cheerily. "We can have girl talk the whole way there without interruption and play all kinds of games!"  
  
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Serena," Heero soothed. "But one of us has to fly the shuttle, unless one of you can fly an advanced technological machine?"  
  
"No, we can't," Serena said dejectedly.  
  
"Anyway," Trista interrupted. "The tear only stays open for about five minutes, so we have to be prompt or else we're stuck in the past for all eternity."  
  
"Jeez, make it sound more mortifying," Duo muttered under his breath.  
  
"How long until it opens?" Tre asked.  
  
"Three hours," Trista answered. "Which means, you girls have only enough time to pack a few things and get back here."  
  
The girls in the circle nodded, and some started to leave with their respective pilot/bough. Soon, everyone left. Trista and Pyrone went in Trista's Camaro, along with Quatre and Amy. Heero, Serena, Wufei, and Raye drove off in Tre's car. Tre and Mina went on the jetbike, leaving Duo, Lita, Trowa, and Michelle to go with Amara.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
Lita finished in the bathroom and soon moved to her bedroom to collect the last of the money that would cover the rent she owed for the month. Since she wasn't coming back and the money she owned now would be worthless in the future, she gave the landlord almost everything she had. She held on to a few bills as a souvenier of the past.  
  
Emerging from her bedroom with her many bags slung across her body, Lita looked like a pack mule ready to collapse. Duo saw, snickered, and then doubled over laughing. Lita was pissed, and swung a heavy purse over his head. He yelled in pain, then rubbed his aching head. Lita's face was contorted into an expression of extreme anger, her breathing heavy. Duo smiled and peacably approached her, taking some of the heavier bags ("Here, lemme take some of those!") and placing a loving peck on Lita's lips. She instantly felt her heart melt and began to well up. Duo, being the sensitive guy he is, said,  
  
"Hey baby, no need to cry."  
  
"Yes, there is," she replied. "You're just so cute sometimes it's romantic."  
  
"Um, sure," Duo said. "Let's go wait for Amara to come back and get us."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back at Trista's apartment, loud feminine yells of extreme pleasure were breaking the still silence of the night. The squeaks of the bedframe also pierced the tranquility of the dark building. Finally, one last dragged out scream then peace and quiet returned.   
  
Trista and Pyrone's nude forms were both covered in a light sheen of both their own and each other's perspiration, gasping heavily after the intensity of the now halted activity. As they continued breathing heavily, Trista turned to her partner and smiled,  
  
"You are amazing! Where did you learn to do it like that?"  
  
"Well," Pyrone panted. "It just came with reading a lot of sick material and special courses in high school, believe it or not. Sex ed has come a long way from today's shitty excuse of an education in sexuality."  
  
"I must say I'm very impressed with your performance," Trista breathed.  
  
"You think so?"   
  
"Twentith-century men are so inexperienced and full of hot air," she answered.  
  
"Hmm," Pyrone grunted. "Wonder when Amy and Quatre are getting back?"  
  
"We have time," Trista cooed. "Trust me."  
  
She rolled toward him and kissed him, full on the lips then shoved her tongue deep inside his mouth. He rolled toward her and held his hand behind her head, giving her a taste of her own medicine by shoving his tongue in her mouth. Pyrone came for air, saying,  
  
"Batter up!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Amy, are you sure you don't want any help?" Quatre whispered.  
  
"No, I'm fine Quatre," Amy answered quietly.  
  
She was moving silently about her room, gathering her books, clothing, favorite blanket and pillow, and fitting it all in one medium-sized duffel bag. Not five minutes ahd passed until they had gotten into Amy's room up to the point when they left. Amy left a note on her desk, which read like so:  
  
Dear Mother,  
  
I had to leave for good, and I won't be coming back. But it is not because you didn't raise me well or because of you and dad splitting up. You were both great parents and I love you both, very much. The reason I'm leaving is to discover new ventures and to embark on a very long and hopefully rewarding voyage. I will miss you both, and I will think about you everyday.  
  
From your loving daughter,  
  
Amy Mizuno  
  
"Let's go, Quatre," Amy said quietly.  
  
They both turned toward the window, slipping out silently. Quatre jumped down first, then caught Amy's duffel, and finally he caught Amy. As they continued on their way to Trista's apartment, Amy stopped staring at the house where she grew up, and shed a silent tear. Drawing a shuddering breath, she said silently,  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Serena, could you please be a little more quiet?" Heero hissed.  
  
"I'm sorry," she squeaked. "I just can't see."  
  
During the time that they had been there, Serena had managed to wreck every fragile item in her room, leaving her carpet littered with shards of glass, split contents of these containers, and her mirror cracked. The couple had been there three seconds and already there was so much wreckage in her room that it seemed more like a kidnapping than a dead-of-the-night-pack-and-leave. Heero, using his training to see his way around the room, slunk to the closet to try and find a suitcase or a duffel bag that he could use to pack Serena's stuff in. He approached the doors, and swung them open. He was met with an avalanche of stuffed animals of varying species: squeaky, soft, beanie baby, with bells, etc. until he was buried by the cotton-filled toys.   
  
Serena was beside herself with laughter, quiet laughter, mind you. Heero was dazed to be brought to his back by such insignificant toys. But he could see what would be so amusing about this situation, because he is the Perfect Soldier and he was defeated by some stuffed toys. But this many? How could a girl own so many of these-these...things? Heero put the question out of his mind when he saw the suitcase and yanked it out of the closet. He slowly got to his feet, the suitcase in hand, and walked to Serena's location. He put a finger on her lips, she immediately stopped her laughing; his cold eyes bore deep within her, freezing her to soul. He lifted the corners of his mouth without even wanting to, in a smile...well, as best a smile an emotionless soldier could muster. Serena smiled too, and closing her eyes she gave him a kiss. He just stood there, suitcase in hand, thinking,  
  
'Hell, we've got almost forty-five minutes until we have to be back.'  
  
"Serena," he said.   
  
"What is it, Heero?" she replied in an alluring tone, stroking his face.  
  
"Can you stay quiet enough if we-uh...you know..." he trailed off.  
  
"I can try," she cooed.  
  
That did it. Heero pressed his lips upon hers, while taking his shirt off. She was doing the same, stripping her lithe young body of its garments and aiding Heero in taking his shorts off (them things look tight, man! He's gonna need all the help he can get, 'specially with a boner!). Soon, they were both nude and pressing their bodies together, caressing the other's skin. Serena led Heero to the bed, lying on her back. Their lips never parted until they got to the bed, then they had to stay as quiet as possible. The night is young, and so are those two...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, you're name is Wufei?" Grandpa asked the Chinese teen.  
  
"Yes, I am Chang Wufei," Wufei answered. "I ask that you leave your granddaughter's care in my hands, that I may have your blessing to marry her in the future."  
  
"Well, of course you have my blessing," Grandpa laughed.   
  
"Excellent! You have my humble gratitude," Wufei bowed. "I vow that I will love and protect her all my life."  
  
"I'd expect no less from the man my granddaughter wants to marry," Grandpa smiled.  
  
"Wufei, I have to pack quickly," Raye said. "Would you mind assisting me?"  
  
"Yes," Wufei answered. "We haven't much time left."  
  
"Raye, I need to talk to you," Grandpa said quickly. "Stay here."  
  
They left Wufei to go pack for Raye. Grandpa made sure that Wufei had left the immediate area and then said,  
  
"Raye, you've become a fine priestess over the last few years and I officially recognize you as such. You can open your own temple wherever you please and make sure that you banish evil spirits from this world using the skills I've worked so hard to teach you."  
  
"Don't worry, Grandpa," Raye smiled. "I will do just that."  
  
Raye bent down and gave her grandfather a hug, shedding a few tears in realizing that she would never see him again. Wufei cleared his throat in the doorway, jarring them from their reviere.  
  
"Are you ready?" Wufei asked.  
  
"Yes," Raye answered.  
  
They walked out of the temple, waving goodbye one last time. There they waited outside for Heero and Serena to show up.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"We haven't time for chatting about music at the moment," Amara amusingly chided the two.  
  
Since they got to the apartment that Michelle and Amara share, Trowa and Michelle had done nothing but talk about music. Leaving their responsibilities of packing to rest, they lost themselves on subjects of Beethoven, Bach, Hayden, and Mozart. Fortunately for them, Amara brought them back to reality and they quickly started to gather Michelle's things. They packed a large rollerboard suitcase with a week's worth of clothes, one business dress, an outfit made for extreme partying, and a dress for prestigious concerts. Oh yeah, and a "little" something for those passionate nights. She then piled all her face cleansers, make-up, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, leg razor, Nair and shaving cream, etc. into a medium-sized toilettry bag. She then proceeded to get her violin, but Trowa beat her to it. He held the fragile instrument, just looking at it, before he put it in its hardshell case. Softly, she ran her hand over his while they both closed the lid of the case.   
  
"Trowa, what's wrong?" Michelle asked with concern written in her eyes.  
  
"I have a bad feeling," Trowa answered. "I feel as though one of our group is going to be separated from us for a long time."  
  
"How long?" she cringed.  
  
A pause, then, "Eternity."  
  
Silence fell over the apartment's occupants. Michelle was to shocked for words to hear such a prediction. Amara was too skeptical to believe it anyway.   
  
"Ah, it's just the dinner you had Trowa," Amara stated.  
  
"No, I don't think so," Trowa argued. "I really do think that something bad is going to happen to one of us. I can't explain it but I know that what I feel is really trying to tell me something."  
  
Trowa couldn't be more right, or rather wrong. He wouldn't know how close he was to such a prediction.  
  
Finished packing, the threesome made their way downstairs to the car. Trowa put all the bags in the trunk, barely taking up any space in the small cavity. Shutting the large door, they piled in and sped off toward the park where the Gundams were waiting.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Everyone met back at the park at the designated time, carrying bags of all shapes and sizes. Tre was amazed and frustrated at the amount of bags these girls packed AND the fact that he told his fellow pilots to keep their girls from packing so much. Thankfully, Wufei had managed to keep Raye's stuff in one bag. Tre was astounded that Heero had managed to cram Serena's "garbage" into one large suitcase.  
  
'It must be the tight shorts,' Tre mused. 'It's no wonder the guy can cram such a tight package.'  
  
The group was short about four people; where the Hell was Trista, Pyrone, Wufei, and Raye? The squeal of tires in the distance answered Tre's unspoken question. The silver Camaro pulled up to the curb rather quickly. The lights dimmed out, then the engine died as the driver obviously shut the vehicle off. Pyrone got out of the driver's side, Trista the passenger's then Wufei and Raye from the back. Tre read his best friend's mind, then laughed out loud hysterically. He could barely hold himself up from what he just found out. The rest of the group had no idea what was so funny, but from what they knew about Tre, some choice couples felt a bit uneasy by their comrade's laughter.  
  
Able to calm himself down, Tre wiped away some tears from his face. He looked at Trista's face, which was about as red as a face could get. She grabbed for Pyrone's hand as some kind of assurance that she was safe under the amused stare from Tre. From her face, Tre's gaze shifted to Heero. Heero - the Perfect Soldier - seemed a little uneasy under Tre's gaze. So, Tre searched his mind......................tried to stifle his laugh, then fell to the ground, rolling around with maniacal laughter. For five minutes straight he was laughing with the same intensity that he began with. In fact, Tre was laughing so hard, he pissed his pants. All over the front of his pants were wet, and yet he continued to laugh non-stop.  
  
Getting quite sick of this, several group mates kicked him and stood him up. They tried to keep themselves away from the front of his pants. Then it was Duo's turn to laugh maniacally.  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! TRE PISSED HIMSELF!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"  
  
Tre stopped laughing, and went after Duo, threatening to cut the boy's braid off if he didn't stop laughing.  
  
"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Duo wailed. "ANYTHING but the braid!"  
  
"Then shut up," Tre growled.  
  
Duo obeyed, but had to release one more snicker. Tre wheeled around, glaring the younger pilot down. Duo put on his best innocent angel face, appearing to be behaving. Tre addressed the problem with his pants by transforming into Sailor Universe and then back to human.   
  
"Good as new," Tre chuckled. "So, we all here?"  
  
"Yep," Pyrone smiled, looking at Trista.  
  
"Hn," Heero grunted.  
  
"Present!" Duo quipped enthusiastically.  
  
"We're ready," Trowa offered.  
  
"Ready to go," Quatre announced.  
  
Let's go!" Wufei demanded.  
  
"Alright," Tre assessed. "Girls, you'll have to sit on the lap of your "man" while we get the Gundams off the ground and into the shuttle. The ride will be a bit bumpy and kind of uncomfortable, so bear with it while the shuttle comes to pick us up, OK?"  
  
They nodded, obviously ready to get going. Trista cleared her throat, tapping her watch. Tre nodded, then said, "Let's suit up!"  
  
The girls went with their respective pilot and loaded their bags behind the seats in the cockpit. The pilots rode the cable up first, got situated in the cockpit, then sent the cable down to their respective Scout. They then rode the cable up and were pulled into the cockpit as the door shut behind them.  
  
Soon, the grounds around the Gundams was alight with the green glow from the eyes of the machines. Soon, all seven of the mettalic monstrosities erected themselves, often moving jerkily sometimes as the pilots had trouble moving the controls around their new cargo. Two of the Gundams retrieved the vehicles belonging to Tre and Trista. DreadScythe looked up at the sky and saw the fiery streak of the shuttle reentering the atmosphere. Then, all Gundams blasted off toward the sky.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Amara and Hotaru just looked on as the rest of the Sailor Scouts left the only home they've known for the past 18 years.   
  
"Amara, are they going to be OK?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Yes," was the reply. "Those pilots wouldn't let anything happen to our princesses. They'll keep them alive; they'll do what they have to do."  
  
"I hope so," the small girl sighed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The shuttle was flying a large circle in the upper atmosphere, as not to lose the location of the tear. The two Gundams with the vehicles stashed them all on the platforms, the smart hooks grabbing the vehicles securely. Then the ramp closed, leaving the seven pods to open themselves. The Gundams maneuvered into the pods, cramming their large metallic forms into the pods. Once settled, the machines quickly died as the pod doors closed around their cargo.   
  
The Scouts leapt out of the cockpits first, followed by their pilots. They all proceeded toward the flight deck...to find fourteen seats and seven more spacesuits made for females. Tre just laughed, knowing that the future had changed indeed. He told the girls to suit up as the shuttle was forced toward the already collapsing tear. The shuttle's throttle was increased to full blast, knocking some of the Scouts off balance and against the bulkhead. Tre apologized quickly as the shuttle burst through the tear, only milliseconds before it collapsed for eternity.  
  
Then, Tre slowly backed off the throttle and hailed the beacon that would situate him. It calibrated the date, time, direction of the rally point, and so on. It also fed him any news that he might need to fight against the Brits. Once he hailed the beacon, he was astonished at the readouts. According to the onboard clock, it was six months since last they left and all the colonial clusters had been taken over by the British. A headline stored in the news archives ran a short news report:  
  
"...With the sudden absence of the Gundams that defend the peace within the colonies, the British autocracy has conquered the last stronghold against total colonial control under the British regime. L2 colony X-66618, the colony ran as a free American democracy under the Young family, finally surrendered due to lack of supplies resulting from a blockade. When asked by British interrogaters the whereabouts of their youngest child, Tre Jason Young, the family replied that they knew their son would not bow to British wishes at the expense of his family..."  
  
Tre had heard enough. His blood began to boil and his temper got the best of him. He yelled out in rage, scaring the rest of his group and then he smashed the small screen to pieces. The glass bits floated ahout the cabin as Tre continued to smash the small glass screen. His hand was becoming quite bloody as the jagged glass cut into his hand. The girls cringed against the bulkhead, afraid of what he might do to take his rage out on something, or someone, else. He got up and kicked off toward the aft portion of the shuttle, no one stopping him. He slammed his helmet on, then opened the door to his Gundam's pod. He slid into the cockpit, strapped himself in and opened the large pod doors. He fired the rockets and blasted out of the pod, igniting the scythe. He then flew off, full throttle toward the British colony.  
  
"Tre! TRE!" Pyrone's voice came on the intercomm. "ANSWER ME, GODDAMIT!!"  
  
"What is it?" Tre answered darkly.  
  
"What you are doing is suicide!"  
  
"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!!!" Tre roared. "THEY PICKED THE WRONG GUNDAM PILOT TO FUCK WITH!!!"  
  
"Look, at least let one of us help you," Pyrone pleaded. The Scouts were shaking their heads no.  
  
"No," Tre seethed. "This is my battle."  
  
With that, he blasted the rockets past their max. He then heard the early warning radar go off, signalling a whole wall of mobile suits coming his way. DreadScythe lifted the large beam cannon out of its holster and prepped the weapon to fire. Then, without warning, DreadScythe was broadsided by another mobile suit. Tre saw bleach spikes in the left-side monitor, wondering what kind of mobile suit this was. The enemy suit wrestled the beam cannon out of DreadScythe's grasp. It dodged each swipe DreadScythe delivered with the scythe. The enemy fired a barrage into DreadScythe's face, leaving Tre blinded by the explosions of the rapidly contacting slugs. Then, the scythe was confiscated by the enemy suit. DreadScythe went for the sword, but a large beam struck its right arm, tearing away at the appendage much the way Deathscythe's arm had when it first encountered the Taurus suits. The sword twirled around in the beam before being blown into outer space. Tre was starting to get worried at this point, then the Gundam jolted again. Tre saw the same mobile suit standing on DreadScythe's left side, trying to pull the Gundams other arm off. The moaning metal, stressed to the breaking point, snapped under the strenuous power of the enemy suit. Now, DreadScythe had no weapons, no arms, and had shut down. Tre was worried, to say the least.  
  
"Tre Young," Shawn's voice was heard over the intercomm.   
  
"Oh shit," Tre whispered dejectedly.  
  
"Surrender yourself to the British Royal Family or we will open fire," Shawn continued.  
  
"That your new toy Shawn?" Tre chuckled, looking at the enemy mobile suit.  
  
"Surrender or die, Tre! It is very simple!"  
  
Tre opened the door to the cockpit and floated out, landing on the end of the door. He had the self-destruct switch in hand, ready to blow himself to smithereens. He finally took a good look at the new Gundam. It looked like Shawn in green fatigues, but with metallic skin. Tre looked up at the Heavens, closed his eyes, and shook his head. He raised his hand with the self-destruct switch in it, then he pressed the little red button. The Gundam began to glow an angry red, then Tre was knocked into a sitting position by the cockpit chair as the seat ejected him into outer space, away from impending doom. The instant the seat cleared the open door, the Gundam DreadScythe exploded into an intense red-orange fireball. The fireball spread wider, its spherical shape increasing in size and engulfing some of the mobile suits. Tre looked back at the Gundam that had served him so well for the past four years. He shed a silent tear, in realization that he had lost a friend.  
  
"Farewell, DreadScythe," Tre spoke.  
  
The seat continued to carry him to a nearby colony, where he was lost within the depths of the darkened bowels.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Back on the shuttle~  
  
The explosion caused many on the shuttle to gasp out loud. Tre had sacrificed himself rather than to surrender to the British. Pyrone, his jaw hanging to the floor, slowly raised his lower portion of his face and clenched the two halves together. He smashed the control panel underneath his fist, shedding tears of grief at the death of his friend. Mina, too shocked for words, held her hands to her mouth, crying silently. Trista wrapped an arm aound her smaller blonde companion, trying to comfort her. Then Mina just broke down completely and let loose into Trista's bosom. She hugged her older comrade, and cried her eyes out. The other Scouts couldn't even find the words to say, they just let their mouths hang open. The rest of the Gundam pilots just hung their heads, saying a silent salute to their short-lived leader.  
  
"A salute," Trowa spoke gravely. "To our friend and leader, Tre Young." 


	22. DreadScythe HELL

IF you are reading those notes at the beginning of the chapters, don't pay attention to them b/c some of them are old; I don't know how they got there. Read on and review, por favor.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, but I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns.  
  
Chapter 22 - DreadScythe HELL  
  
Tre awoke, the loud alarm ringing nonstop in his ears, signaling him to change his air tank. He saw that he was still strapped in his seat. How did this happen? He looked about him and saw darkness, save for a small window that overlooked his position from two stories up. He unbuckled and turned the helmet lights on. He kicked off the floor toward the light. He had no recollection of where he was, why he was here, or how he got here. When he got to the light, he looked in and saw a face looking back at him. A very familiar face, one with a gray pencil thin mustache. The face smiled, the wizened visage wrinkling. It was Doctor X, whom pointed the way to the airlock.  
  
Tre nodded, and went on his way. He reached the airlock, heard the hiss of pressurizing air, and then removed his helmet. The air felt strange, probably because it was old and rarely used. Tre entered the second door, to greet the squat doctor.  
  
"Doctor X," Tre said.  
  
"Tre," Dr. X replied. "It has been six months since I sent you on that mission. And you returned with the Sailor Scouts. Intere-"  
  
"Look," Tre cut him short. "I don't have time to chat about that. I need to know what the Hell happened when we left."  
  
"You don't want to know," the doctor advised. "Trust me."  
  
"Doctor X," Tre said vehemently. "Don't pull this bullshit on me now. What happened? Where is my family? What the FUCK IS GOING ON!?!"  
  
"CALM DOWN, LADDY!!!" the doctor bellowed. "You want to know, I'll tell yeh! After you left, the British finally realized that the Gundam attacks were stopping after the disappearance of their cruiser. The princess found out that Shawn was on that cruiser and demanded that her father conquer the rest of the colonies until she found yer family. Once she did, she besieged the colony by putting a blockade on it. The citizens were starving, and yer mum and dad gave in. They couldn't stand to see the rest of the citizens suffer at their expense.   
  
"Once they were captured, the British tortured yer dad and Nikki. They finally told them that you were the new Gundam pilot and had no idea where you were. They were later released into the public again, doing God knows what with no family business left to run. As fer the rest of yer family, yer mum, being with child fer five months now, and the rest of yer siblings stayed in hiding. Even now, they are within the bowels of this very colony. I can't let you see them, because the British are still looking fer yer body."  
  
Tre held his tears back. His mom...pregnant and hiding. This was all his fault. He didn't even have a Gundam left to fight with. Plus, Mina was on that shuttle and they were probably being hunted right now. Tre was blinking back his tears before they could fall, but it was a losing battle. He bent over, trying to regain his composure but ended up letting it go. He let all the anger, hurt, and frustration loose. His eyes were burst dams, letting forth the floodwaters that overflowed the rivers of his emotions. He screamed out in anger, kicking in the bottom panel of the control console. He threw his helmet at the wall, then went over and punched that same wall, a hole appeared as a result. Tre just crumbled to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. But he even rejected those, for he knew that he killed many with those hands. He hated being alive, he hated everything about himself, and he hated life.  
  
'Why can't I just make it stop?' he thought.  
  
Drying his eyes and calming himself down, he looked the doctor straight in the eyes and said,  
  
"I need a new Gundam."  
  
"Well, that was obvious!" the doctor laughed.  
  
"Don't mock me, doctor," Tre growled.  
  
"Not mocking," Dr. X said. "Just that the fact your ejection seat brought you here is because I made it bring you here. I have to give you a new Gundam: DreadScythe HELL."  
  
"Come again?"   
  
"DreadScythe HELL," Dr. X said slowly. "Totally improved and better than its predecessor. Come look."  
  
The small window became a large one as Doctor X pressed a control. The large hangar lights burned to life, showing what looked like DreadScythe standing there. Only it wasn't DreadScythe; it looked more dangerous than a DreadScythe.  
  
The machine looked more like a beefed-up metallic giant wearing a sleeveless trench coat. The Gundam sported the same hairstyle as the DreadScythe, the same brow rings, but the goatee was a charcoal gray color instead of the traditional red. Furthermore, the suit looked more like it had skin rather than armor. The exposed chest was finely chiseled and muscular looking, and underneath the ripped eight-pack, all bulging muscles black against the charcoal gray skin. The once black pants on the legs were just that (still baggy style) stopped at mid-shin by black combat boots. The arms of the Gundam again had a toned, muscular look with bulging biceps, deltoids, and large forearms. The forearms still had the black, trapezoidal prism arm blade pacs with the powder blue hemispheres and all. (AN: If you have trouble envisioning the arm blade pacs, think of what a brick of gold would look like. Then, take that, narrow it, and stick it on a forearm.) The hands were wrapped in black, fingerless gloves, the gray fingers visible from just past the middle knuckle on each finger. The propulsion system consisted of four (that's right, four) of the same wings used on the last DreadScythe. They were positioned to like an X (AN: Look at the wings on the soldier on Linkin Park's album cover).  
  
The weaponry assembled on the Gundam included the arm blades, another beam scythe, a two-barreled version of DreadScythe's old beam cannon, the infamous sword, and a pair of Uzi's. Tre was astounded, and confused. This Gundam didn't look too armored and therefore, weak.  
  
"Doctor X," Tre asked. "Where is the Neo-Gundanium armor?"  
  
"It's on there," the doctor responded.  
  
"Where?" Tre asked. "It just looks like it has a thin skin on it."  
  
"That's the beauty of it!" Dr. X said excitedly. "The armor is the skin! I found a way to make the Neo-Gundanium armor like a skin, yet stronger than ever! You see how it looks like there is a muscular look to this Gundam? Well, like real muscle, the more you work the Gundam, the stronger and beefier it gets. The mechanisms used on the older Gundams were bulky and unnecessary. So I found a way to imitate the human body and yet make this the strongest Gundam ever! What do you think, lad?"  
  
"Doctor X," Tre said.  
  
"Uh huh?" the doctor waited.  
  
"You're out of your mind," Tre said. "That thing will get me killed in no time, I mean look at it! If it really does imitate the human body, then bullets will pass right through it and destroy it."  
  
"You're missin' the point, lad," Dr. X persuaded. "The armor is the skin and the armor is two times lighter than the previous Neo-Gundanium, meaning that you'll be able to move faster, especially with four rocket wings! Now, come on!"  
  
Tre sighed, then gave in, "All right!"  
  
"Great!" Dr. X yelled. "Oh, I forgot teh tell yeh! This Gundam's trench coat is also another layer of armor, but it can open into demon wings that span almost 150 yards! Plus, you get the Hyper Stealth II featured on this Gundam. This technology allows you to completely cloak yourself and any other Gundams that you touch with yours when using the Hyper Stealth II. You become invisible on radar, infrared, and even to the naked eye."  
  
"Anything else?" Tre muttered under his breath.  
  
"AYE!! You get to create an energy blast that is over ten times more destructive than a hydrogen bomb explosion! Of course, you'd have to self-destruct."  
  
"Well, I knew this thing had to have a drawback," Tre sighed. "By the way, you have a spare air tank?"  
  
"Aye," the doctor said. Tre was bursting his enthusiasm about his latest creation. But, he knew that Tre would definitely say no if he knew about the Shadow System.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Doctor X," Dr. J said heavily. "The Shadow System plans are just too much for the human mind to handle. Even the Zero System might be too much! I'll be surprised if Heero can handle it, let alone master it."  
  
"You must understand," Dr. X pleaded his case. "This system could change the existence of peace for good! I am confident that Tre could handle the stresses of the Shadow Sys-"  
  
"DO YOU REALIZE THAT THIS SYSTEM IS TEN TIMES MORE POWERFUL, RESPONSIVE, AND NOT TO MENTION DANGEROUS!?!" Doctor G roared.  
  
"Gentlemen," Dr. X continued. "I have tested the system on myself and have not been affected by its neuro-impulse stimuli! It is completely safe! I assure you!"  
  
The rest of the doctors seemed to ponder this. They knew that Doctor X was a good man and had no intention of harming the human race with this cockpit system, but the Zero System alone drove the test subjects to the point of insanity and many into mental vegetables. Why would they let this man put a system ten times more potent into this young boy's Gundam? Dr. J spoke.  
  
"Doctor X, for now, just leave the Shadow System out of the DreadScythe's cockpit interface. Should Tre need such powerful battle tactic data in the future, then you may install it. But for our sakes, leave it out."  
  
"Aye," the doctor answered his colleague.   
  
~End Flashback~  
  
"Hello?" Tre waved his hand in front of the doc's face.  
  
"I'm here," Dr. X said, snapping out of it.  
  
"Good," Tre said. "I'll take the new DreadScythe. I just need a new tank."  
  
"Oh, right."  
  
Doctor X gave Tre a new tank, full of fresh air. Tre wrenched the empty tank out and replaced it with the new one. He then picked up his helmet and proceeded to the airlock.  
  
"Hey Doc," Tre said through the opened visor.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Is it a boy or a girl?"  
  
"Ah, 'tis a boy!"  
  
"Sweet!"  
  
The door slid shut, and so did Tre's visor. The room was vacated of any gases and Tre stepped out of the outer door and flew around toward the opened cockpit door of the DreadScythe HELL. He sat in the comfortable new cockpit seat, and then remembered Mina's stuff was still strapped to the back of the other seat. He brought the Gundam to life, the controls all where they were remembered to have been. Slowly, he walked the Gundam toward the old seat, then stopping when it was at its feet.   
  
Tre lowered himself with the cable to retrieve the large and overstuffed duffel bag from the back of the ejected seat. He then rode the cable back up into the cockpit and stashed the bag behind his new seat. He then closed the door, bringing the front view screen to life. He saw that the Gundam was heading toward the large, jagged opening in the colonial wheel. Tre, being the speed-junkie he is, opened the throttle wide only to find himself flattened like a pancake against the seatback. He was amazed at the force these four rockets generated. Then, DreadScythe HELL left the forgotten colony and set a course for its shuttle.   
  
Unbeknownst to Tre, the avionics behind him were whirring to life. A set of four racks labeled 'Shadow System' came to life, on standby. A black tinge wound its way around the all the cockpit monitors' borders.  
  
Tre let loose a whoop of victory as he spotted his shuttle, then he hailed it.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I can't believe he's gone," Mina sobbed. "And-and-and we j-j-just found each other again."  
  
"Look at it like this," Pyrone soothed. "He's gone to a better place."  
  
"Who has?" a cheery voice rang out over the shuttle comm.  
  
Mina slowly raised her head from her knees and looked at the speaker that uttered those words. Her face suddenly brightened, as she knew the voice that spoke those words. She shrieked Tre's name and he answered back,  
  
"Mina! Hey baby! You all right?"  
  
"I'm fine now that you're alive!" she screamed. "Where are you?"  
  
"Right outside the shuttle, honey," he said. "See me?"  
  
The group all took a place at the front window. They saw a DreadScythe that was foreign to them, one with a muscular body and wearing a huge sleeveless trench coat. What was this thing? They all saw it with their own eyes...the explosion.  
  
The pods doors were opening for DreadScythe HELL like the arms of a waiting parent for their child. The new Gundam settled inside the large pod, waiting for the clamshell doors to shut around it. Once they did, Tre exited his new Gundam and pressurized the pod. He removed his helmet and opened the door to the shuttle cabin. But he found himself tackled back into the pod by Mina, who hugged Tre tightly. She was still crying, afraid that she might have lost Tre for good that time. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes, smiling. He just smiled back as they floated backward toward DreadScythe HELL. He slowly pulled her face toward his; kissing her with all the love he had in his heart. They bumped softly against the DreadScythe HELL, still wrestling with their tongues. Tre stroked Mina's soft golden tresses, letting his gloved fingers lose themselves in her perfect mane.  
  
She released herself long enough to say, "You and I are going to celebrate your resurrection."  
  
"Uh huh," Tre said. He could read her thoughts and he was all for it. "Wait until we're in my room, OK, babe?"  
  
"Mm hmm," she said, kissing him again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The rest of the time, the group celebrated Tre's rebirth. They partied the best they could with freeze-dried food and plastic sealed beverages. They danced in Zero G, enjoying the moment with their friends. Then, Mina pulled Tre away from the action to his room. She flung him inside, locked the door, and started to unzip her spacesuit alluringly. Underneath, she had been wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. Slowly, she removed her shirt, revealing the thin white brassiere that held the supple mounds Tre had dreamed of since last time he saw Mina. She then shook her hair free of the shirt and proceeded to unzip her jeans...very...slowly. This was killing Tre, so he got up and thrust his lips on hers, helping her to undo the zipper and button that held within Tre's desire. He slid her jeans down, then her undergarment. He then unhooked the bra, sending that over his head. Undoing his own spacesuit, he slipped out of it as Mina settled her nude form on his bed. He removed his black attire from underneath the spacesuit and soon was nude himself. He settled atop Mina, kissing her long and hard. Then, he slowly pushed himself inside her. And for the rest of the night, the quarters of Tre Young were never silent.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shawn and Sven had cleaned themselves up and were on their way to meet with the king. Shawn had a plan and Sven was to be the assistant in this plan. Since Shawn didn't have the powers Sven had yet, he would need someone to have his back while he faced the king. Shawn planned on marrying Elizabeth tonight, and then killing the king so that he may become king himself. That was the plan, but they were going to see how well it would work. Sven was to keep the king from killing Shawn. They both entered the throne room. Coming to the bottom of the small flight of stairs, they bowed on their knees to the king and princess.  
  
"Arise," the king said.  
  
"Your majesty," Shawn said. "May I humbly introduce, Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect?"  
  
"Your highness," Sven bowed deeply. "And princess."  
  
"Lord Sven, it is true that you assisted Shawn in his homecoming, correct?" the king asked.  
  
"Why, of course," Sven drawled. "Shawn and I are inseparable now. Like brothers, we are."  
  
"Well, in that case, may I grant you lordship under our flag as well?"  
  
"No, no need for that."   
  
"Oh, but it is most necessary," the king insisted.  
  
"Really, your majesty is too kind," Sven said, taking a knee.  
  
"I dub thee, Lord Sven of the British Royalty."  
  
"Thank you, my liege."  
  
"My Lord," Shawn started. "I should request that your daughter and I should wed as soon as possible."  
  
"What's the hurry?" the king asked. "I have a whole ceremony, reception planned afterward, and even the perfect honeymoon spot picked out for you two."  
  
"How long?" Shawn asked.  
  
"Within the next two days," Elizabeth answered. "Oh, Shawn, it will be wonderful! Fiji!"  
  
'Oh shit,' Shawn thought. 'I can't kill him now!'  
  
'Problem?' Sven's voice invaded Shawn's thoughts. 'I'm listening.'  
  
'I can't kill him now,' Shawn thought in his head. He wasn't a telepath.  
  
'Soon,' Sven said. 'After you are wed. Then, you can make me your High Lord and I'll kill the Sailor Scouts!'  
  
Shawn decided to change the subject, "Majesty! I've killed Tre Young!"  
  
"What did you say? That Tre Young is dead?" the king was astonished.  
  
"Yes, my lord," Shawn grinned. "I've killed him with the Xonyx. His Gundam will never again haunt the Mobile Suit Division of the British Royalty."  
  
"EXCELLENT!!!" the king cried out in glee. "THAT LITTLE BASTARD IS DEAD AND GONE FOREVER!!!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Let's see what is in the news for today!" Tre whispered happily.  
  
The morning report would amuse him to no end. The first strong newscast he received was that of the British.  
  
'What a surprise,' Tre thought glumly.  
  
"It has been announced earlier today by the Royal Family that Tre Young, the heir to the Young family, has been killed in battle yesterday with the Royal Mobile suit Division. Jonathan Davidson is on site for the press conference called forth by his majesty, John?"  
  
Tre's face suddenly became curious and amused. His mouth twisted into a smile and he started to laugh. The screen shifted to reveal the Royal Press Room. The king himself was addressing the press,  
  
"It has been confirmed that Tre Young's death took place as a result of a battle that he partook in against our prestigious mobile suit pilots. The rumored pilot of the Gundam that threatened to unravel the tapestry woven between the colonies in peace, Young fought a losing battle and died by self-destructing his Gundam. His foolish actions should be remembered to all those who dare to oppose the British Royalty-"  
  
Tre's laughter was too much to hear the news over and in fear of hearing something else that would make him laugh so hard as to piss himself again, so he shut the news off. This was too much! Him, dead. The British actually thought he was dead, when they were known for their impeccable search efforts. This was a good thing! This way, he knew that they were becoming more lax in their efforts and that him being dead gave him and the Gundams the advantage.  
  
The laughter had awakened the rest of the shuttle's inhabitants from their peaceful slumber. When they saw the floating maniac laughing, they had one thing in mind: Kill him for waking them up. Pyrone was the most irritable of the group, therefore the more daring one to approach Tre. He grabbed the teen by the collar of his shirt. Tre stopped laughing and looked at his tired friend, then broke into a smile.  
  
"Do you have any idea how early it is?" Pyrone croaked.  
  
"Pyrone," Tre started sarcastically, "I am dead and no I haven't the conscious to realize how early it is because I'm six feet under th-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"  
  
"Tre," Trista yawned. "You aren't dead but you almost were yesterday-"  
  
"No," Tre argued. "The high and mighty British Royal Family has confirmed my death as of this morning and now I no longer exist. What they say goes, and so you better listen to them."  
  
The Gundam pilots seemed to let this sink in. With Tre's new Gundam, and his being "dead" coming into the equation, they had the advantage on the battlefield. One Gundam could do the work of all seven just by showing up and destroying a few mobile suit squadrons. Then, the Mobile Suit pilots won't want to fight anymore because of the "Ghost of Tre" coming to haunt them and kill them. Tre spoke,  
  
"I know how we can resurrect DreadScythe and strike some fear into the British."  
  
"You have a plan?" Duo asked.  
  
"Absolutely!" Tre said. "It's perfect!"  
  
"Do tell, then," Heero requested.  
  
Tre looked at all his fellow Gundam pilots, "Do any of you know about the Ghost Cluster?"  
  
"They used to be colonies of the first generation," Trowa explained.  
  
"Exactly! It's the perfect hiding place for any rebels, like the Gundams," Tre said.  
  
"What are you getting at, Tre?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"What I propose we do," Tre said, "is to trap the British. Suppose they received a distress transmission from that cluster and were sent to investigate. As they surveyed the wreckage, I would wait inside one of the hollowed out colonies until I flash the Gundam's eyes, attracting their attention.  
  
"Then, they would have to check it out. Once they're all inside, you guys block their escape route and I'll break Hell loose on 'em. Once I've destroyed the majority, I'll let a few escape and tell their precious king what they saw.  
  
"I get it," Heero said. "Then, the long-term end ensures that as word spreads about this massacre, the more fearful the mobile suit pilots are going to become."  
  
"Then one by one, the British will lose control of the colonies as the pilots won't want to defend their king's cause," Wufei concluded.  
  
"That's it," Tre praised. "You guys are really something."  
  
The pilots agreed that this was a good plan. After they had some breakfast, and brushed their teeth (morning breath is killer!), they would put their plan into action.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sir, the patrols are going about without a hitch!" Ensign Daniels reported.  
  
"Excellent, ensign," Shawn drawled. "It seems no one wants to oppose our mighty pilots, eh?"  
  
"No one, indeed," Daniels laughed. "Should I carry on?"  
  
"Please do, don't want to get you demoted."  
  
"Sir! Uh, sir?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Should I tell the tall bald guy outside or the tall girl?"  
  
"It doesn't matter," Shawn said. "Neither can speak anyway."  
  
"Sir!"  
  
All morning, Shawn had been pushing papers, the most boring part of his job as Wing Commander. He was lucky to be promoted back to Wing Commander, but he despised the work he had to do. He was happy out there fighting. But, without the Gundams showing themselves after the incident with Tre, he was bored. No one resistance group decided to rise up and revolt anymore. If the Gundams couldn't handle the British, then how could these rebels even attempt it? And what's even more disappointing is that Tre hadn't really put up a good fight against his Xonyx. Almost as if it weren't even worth fighting anymore.  
  
Shawn sighed as he rose from his chair. He was on his way toward the mobile suit hangar to join a patrol with his Xonyx when the alarms suddenly snapped on. The PA joined the blaring tones.  
  
"Now hear this," the voice announced. "All Forty-fifth Division mobile suit pilots report to your battle stations, on the double. Wing Commander Shawn Chamberlain, report to he Gundam Xonyx at once. That is all."  
  
Shawn bolted toward the mobile suit hangar from his office. Streaking past the tenants of the palace, he ran into several butlers and maids, knocking them down. He raced into the hangar, which was already launching mobile suits out of the racks that held them. The suits had to wait for all personnel to vacate the hangar before the large doors were to be opened. Shawn raced across the cavernous hangar, dodging the large feet of the walking machines. His personalized team awaited him at the foot of his Gundam. He yanked his spacesuit on as he reached them, asking for details about this sudden all call.  
  
"Sir, there was a distress signal coming from the Ghost Cluster," an older soldier replied.  
  
"What was it?" Shawn asked.  
  
"Gundams, sir," a lieutenant told him.  
  
"Was it our suits that made the transmission?" Shawn demanded.  
  
"We aren't sure," the older soldier said. "But, they requested help."  
  
"Helmet!" Shawn yelled.  
  
He was handed the helmet, which he jammed on his head and locked it with his spacesuit collar. The air in his tank filled his helmet with fresh oxygen, and he held onto the cable that raised him to his cockpit. He swung himself in and strapped in while starting the Gundam up. He heard the warning to the personnel to clear the hangar. Shawn was ready and walked the Gundam to the front of the long line of mobile suits. He led them out of the hangar and toward the Ghost Cluster.  
  
'This time,' Shawn thought. 'Your friends will meet you in the afterlife, Tre Young.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The other six Gundams, prepping themselves for the attack, surrounded DreadScythe HELL. Tre had informed the other pilots of what his new Gundam was capable of. So, each Gundam was touched by DreadScythe HELL, each becoming invisible. Soon, it was just down to Neo Deathscythe and DreadScythe HELL.   
  
"How do I look?" Dread seemed to ask Death. "Too cloaked?"  
  
"No, you look fine," the smaller Gundam patted the larger one on the shoulder.  
  
"Now, you're gone," Tre said.  
  
Neo Deathscythe disappeared completely, cloaked by the Hyper Stealth II. Each of the other Gundams took their positions around the large holes of the colony while two stayed by the main entrance. The shuttle was hidden within another colony, also cloaked by the Hyper Stealth II. Tre was just loving this new Gundam; now to test its armor.  
  
"Now remember, guys," Tre cautioned. "The Hyper Stealth only works until I stop using it myself. Once I do that, I have to cloak you guys all over again. Just so you know."  
  
"Right," they said in unison.   
  
"Tre," Trista's voice was heard on his intercom.  
  
"What's up, Time-Waster?" Tre joked.  
  
Trista tsked, then, "Something's coming."  
  
"OK, radio blackout!" Tre advised. "No more transmissions."  
  
Tre saw the large assembly of British mobile suits led by that new Gundam. Tre had DreadScythe HELL do a reading on that new Gundam. It was pretty much based on the same design as the old DreadScythe, save for it didn't have the wing-rocket combination and it had a spike sensor array atop its head. Tre had the DSH run a scan on the sensor array. The results were not good, for they showed that this array could detect heat, radar, and even sound vibrations. This sensitive sound detector could pick up even the slightest ping against metal. Tre slowly lowered the right arm of DreadScythe HELL to pick the beam cannon out of its holster. But, he decided that the cannon would attract too much attention with its enormous heat energy. He instead decided the sword would be better, so the DreadScythe HELL slowly drew the long weapon out if its sheath.   
  
Tre flipped a special switch on each monitor to track the invisible Gundams. He saw each one all around him on the globe of a radar monitor. Deathscythe was seen out front, crouching like a tiger on a large piece of debris and ready to pounce when the time came. Each second that crawled by was an eternity of waiting for the Gundam pilots. They needed a victory here or there would be no victory for the war. Everything had to be pulled off perfectly; it was now or never.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"My God," Shawn choked.   
  
The utter chaos that must have ensued here to create this much debris from mobile suits. Each large piece of debris flew the British insignia on it, several bodies floated by in tattered spacesuits, and the large colony nearby was giving off a spooky vibration. This really was a ghostly cluster of colonies!   
  
Something flashed in Shawn's front monitor, and it didn't look good. He called for the rest of the suits to follow him. Slowly he led his troops to the hollowed and damaged colony, proceeding slowly into it. All the suits were dwarfed by the sheer size of the colony, entering the large gash in the wheel. Shawn looked around carefully, inspecting each sensor for anything they might pick up. Then, the squealing crackle in the headsets invaded the cockpits of each British pilot. The ear-splitting sound was so loud that Shawn barely heard the words "ECM's" and "powerful" coming from one of his pilots. Then, out of nowhere, a faint white glow surrounded a silhouette of a huge winged demon with dreaded hair and wielding a large sword. Then, a black bladed beam scythe was ignited, sending the glow over the demon and its wings. Shawn's heart froze when he realized that it was the Gundam he had destroyed yesterday.  
  
"RETREAT!!!" Shawn screamed. "RETREAT!!! RETREAT GODDAMN YOU ALL!!!"  
  
The demon attacked the suits, destroying each one in less than half a second. The relentless fire on the part of the British mobile suits was futile, for each slug's explosion energy was absorbed into the armor of the demon, the slugs themselves bouncing off. The demon was fast, too fast to track and shoot at and it disappeared altogether. Soon, the enemy knew it was losing a battle it couldn't win and decided to retreat. But, from out of nowhere, gunfire sprayed them down, destroying them all. All the exits had this invisible offense and the enemy knew it was trapped. All around the colony, the darkness was alight by the recurring explosions of mobile suits.  
  
The Xonyx was able to itself out of trouble and not get hit, even though the armor alone would withstand the barrage being delivered for a while. Shawn was scared, more scared than he had ever been and was about to become more panicked. The Gundam that he destroyed yesterday was back, so it had to have been a ghost. Well, like a ghost, it suddenly disappeared into thin air. He couldn't track it using the heat or radar. The sound sensor wouldn't be prudent at this point, what with all the explosions and whatnot. Soon, darkness enveloped the innards of the colony once again. Shawn saw this as the perfect opportunity to escape, and slowly allowed the Xonyx to make a sneaky exit. As Xonyx approached the large opening in which he entered the colony, a pair of shimmers produced themselves in front of Xonyx. Shawn thought nothing of them and continued to exit, checking on a reading. As his vision skated back toward the forward monitor, he spied the angry face of a Gundam directly in front of his, and he let forth a blood-curdling scream as the Gundam stopped his. He was being contacted by an outside source, and he was stupid enough to answer it.  
  
"Attention pilot of the unidentified Gundam," a cold and deep voice spoke. "You are alone and outnumbered and I suggest that you hand over your weapons or suffer a gruesome death."  
  
Xonyx handed the weapons over without complaint, and was held at gunpoint by the black Gundam accompanying the one it almost ran into. Then, the heat sensor found out that several more weapons still fresh from battle were pointed all about his Gundam. Shawn was extremely frightened at this point and was willing to cooperate with any request they made.  
  
"What you are going to do is run a special mission for us," the voice continued. "You're going to tell your king that you were visited by the ghost of the Gundam you destroyed yesterday. And, if you don't start to free the colonies, he will come back to haunt your mobile suit division by destroying each and every one until there are no more pilots left for you to use. You will also tell how many died within the space of five minutes, the exact length of this battle, as a result of this ghost. Now, do you understand the instructions that have been given to you?"  
  
"Y-y-y-y-y-ye-ye-yes-s-s-s-s-s," Shawn stammered nervously.  
  
"Then get out of here," a new voice spoke.  
  
Shawn searched the Gundams that in his front view, trying to fit the voice to one. He soon saw another shimmer as the demon appeared in front of the Xonyx. It looked just like the Gundam Shawn had battled yesterday and that scared him even worse as it disappeared like it had appeared: from out of thin air. The other Gundams looked at Xonyx like they were saying, "Didn't I tell you so?"  
  
Shawn was shaking uncontrollably and could barely move the controls with enough precision to move out of the colony safely. The Gundams had to drag him out of the colony and send him on his way. Even still, his control of the Gundam was jerky, so Neo Wing Zero blasted a small shot to get him working again. It worked and Shawn was out of the Ghost cluster in no time flat.  
  
DreadScythe HELL reappeared within the ring of Gundams and took its place among them. Tre spoke to them all once he found out what he was going to say.  
  
"Well, guys," he started. "I've just secured us seven manned suits of the British in case we might need them again for something like this."  
  
"That's good," Duo said. "Tre, I've been wonderin', where did you get all this British wreckage from? Was it just laying around somewhere?"  
  
"Actually, yeah," Tre answered. "It was just floating around here and so I just guided it over here and had it strewn all over the place. It was from when the British attacked this colony because it was a home base for a resistance movement not too long ago."  
  
"Interesting," Trowa mused.  
  
"What do you say we head back?" Quatre suggested.  
  
"I'm up for that!" Pyrone announced. "Let's get the Hell out of here."  
  
The seven Gundams all fired their rockets and left for the shuttle's hiding place to restock and reload, plus the pilots needed to get some well-deserved R&R.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shawn was heading back to his colony at an incredible rate of speed, and he wasn't slowing down even as he got nearer to the hangar. He only started slowing down when he was just outside the hangar door. The force of this action slammed him against his straps, slowing down just in time to not wreck the hangar or the Gundam. The Gundam was slow enough, and it started to walk to where its designated spot was. Shawn immediately got out of the Gundam, taking the cable ride down and sprinting toward the airlock. Once he got out of the airlock, he tore off his helmet and made a mad dash for the throne room to report what he just saw. He burst in and started to say things all at once,  
  
"YOURMAJESTYTHEGHOSTOFTHEGUNDAMIDESTROYEDYESTERDAYDESTROYEDTHEENTIREBATTALIONANDIWASTHEONLYSURVIVORANDTHEYTOLDMETHATI," he took another breath, "WASSUPPOSEDTOTELLALLOTHERBRITISHMOBILESUITPILOTSTHATTHEYWOULDDESTROYEACHANDEVERYONCEOFUS!!!!!!!"  
  
The king sat there stunned, "What did you just say?"  
  
"Shawn," Elizabeth soothed. "It's all right, we're here and you're safe."  
  
Shawn breathed, "OK."  
  
"Now," she said, "tell us everything that happened slowly."  
  
"I was investigating a distress call that we received just moments before we launched at the Ghost Cluster," Shawn explained. "Then, I saw a flash of light inside one of the colonies and decided to investigate it with the entire battalion. As we went inside, a demon appeared out of nowhere and started to attack. I had sounded retreat, but it was too late. I hid the Xonyx behind a large building within the colony, watching the battle unfold. Our pilots fought bravely but each was destroyed as they tried to escape or fight the menace. It seemed all the escape routes were blocked off by a ghost themselves-"  
  
"You mean to tell me," the king wondered. "That the ghost of this Gundam you destroyed came back to destroy the entire fleet you took with you?"  
  
"I'm telling you, your majesty," Shawn pleaded. "I saw it with my own eyes; one minute it was there, the next it disappeared into thin air!"  
  
"My God," the king laughed. "You actually believe it was a ghost!"  
  
"What the Hell else could it be?" Shawn raised his voice. "What else could it be?"  
  
"You watch your tone with me," the king threatened.  
  
"I apologize, majesty," Shawn said. "But, it is urgent that we hold our grip on the colonies, for this ghost will surely take them back."  
  
"Not if I can help it," the king said. "Messenger! Contact Dr. Theo Reigns and ask him what he can construct for me on his Space Wasps for detecting a "ghost" on their scopes."  
  
"Sire," the messenger bowed. He then left the throne room.  
  
"Shawn," the king waved him over. "Come."  
  
Shawn approached the king, and then bowed on one knee. The king lifted Shawn's face up to look at him. Shawn didn't know what to expect from this, but it was either very good or very bad. Lucky for him, it was a good thing. The king gave him a pure gold ring with a rather large diamond atop it, then whispered,  
  
"You must be engaged to someone before you are to wed them, correct?"  
  
"Yes," Shawn replied. "You want me to...?"  
  
The king nodded. Shawn then stood up and took a knee by Elizabeth, taking up her left hand, and looking her straight in the eyes, he asked her,  
  
"Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? That I may hold you and love you for the rest of my life?"  
  
She was overcome by emotions as she said, "Yes."  
  
Shawn then slid the ring onto her left ring finger. Her eyes were flooding with tears and she stood to hug him. The king shed a tear of joy that his daughter was so happy about this man. Maybe he was worthy for something.  
  
Well, how about that? What do y'all think of the new DreadScythe? You like? You hate? Tell me what you think of the plot thus far and how you like the characters or the story in general. 


	23. Shadows of Doubt

Hello, and hi minna-san! I have been reading the reviews left by you beautiful people and have taken every consideration suggested to try and make this chapter a plot landmark. I hope you enjoy the escapades of our heros and heroines! A special thanks goes out to Girl-Chama for giving me advice on how to better my character and to Sailorcelestial for being a good friend and reviewing my story for the first time.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Gundam Wing, but I do own Tre and Pyrone.  
  
Chapter 23 - Shadows of Doubt  
  
"With the announcement of the engagement between an R.M.S Division wing commander and the princess of the Royal Family, his majesty has also reported that there will be an engagement party tomorrow night at his palace despite rumors of a ghost Gundam massacre, said to have taken place yesterday in the Ghost Cluster. Several pilots have been missing and are presumed dead, but not because of a ghost, his majesty assures..."  
  
The newscast then switched to a recorded press conference that King Charles had arranged to meet.  
  
"It has been confirmed that the deaths of several mobile suit pilots under our command were not done by some ghost Gundam. The enemy in question was destroyed the other day against our proud pilots and has been heard from since. Now, all accusations of such are truly groundle-"  
  
The viewer couldn't take any more bullshit from the newscast. He was dejected, to say the least, about having to track this ghost with the very weapon that this "ghost's" father created. The man rose from his chair, looking over the city of the L2 colony once belonging to his son's best friend. How he despised the British autocracy for putting him here; they knew it would hurt him to be here, commanding his own weapons to destroy a boy that was like a second son to him. At the very least, if this ghost were doing its job correctly, then the entire British military wouldn't dare try to fight it. They knew it would kill the "engine of peace", as it was called, and the parts of the engine wouldn't function, thereby destroying the engine. Theo could only hope that would happen.  
  
He sighed, looking at the newspaper. Over the past two days, he had been trying to hunt down Matt and Nikki Young, to try and tell them the fate of their relative. Communications on the colonies were very limited and only the rich could watch the newscasts, while others tapped into the signal illegally. Theo Reigns didn't care how the public got their news, so long as it was the whole truth and not a half-truth that would get the resistance movements fighting again. It was a terrible loss of life. He feared for the colonies, hoping the ghost would resurrect and take control of the colonies.  
  
His desk intercom was paging him, so he responded by pressing the blinking button. A holographic video screen appeared and the face of his daughter shone on the screen.  
  
"Father, I've received a call from Pyrone on the old phone," Sara Reigns informed her father.  
  
"Pyrone?" Theo asked. "Did he tell you what he was doing?"  
  
"He said something about taking back X-66618 with Tre," she answered. "He said he'd free you."  
  
"I'll be waiting," Theo smiled. "Tah, Sara."  
  
"Buh bye, Daddy," Sara said.  
  
Then, the holograph died as Theo sat down again. Any minute now, those two would start their plan to free his company from the British.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"OK," Pyrone said. "Let's go over this thing one more time, just for my health. I go in first with the wrecked Aries, since I've got the British accent, Tre and Heero here will follow up by taking out the security perimeter around the colony. They will then infiltrate the colony through the elevator and take out the British forces within. Then, you guys will bring in your Gundams to destroy the hangar task force. After that, we move to phase two and rescue my father."  
  
"All correct," Tre said. "Now, lock and load, boys."  
  
The pilots all loaded their side arms, and then put them on safety. Each proceeded to get into their Gundams from the shuttle, still decked in their spacesuits. Mina floated up to Tre, to give him a good-bye kiss. When she did, Tre felt something odd about her, like there was something extra to her life. Tre's eyebrows went sky high when he realized what it was. He just put it to the back of his mind and floated into DreadScythe HELL's pod. He was prepared to pull off this mission without a distraction and that would prove to be very difficult now. Every few seconds, that thought crept up from the back of his mind and started to haunt him again. He tried to forget it as he started up DreadScythe HELL and put on his helmet.  
  
The large clamshell doors of the pod were slowly parting and showing deep space. Tre guided DreadScythe HELL out of the pod and into the vast vacuum. The rest of the Gundam group and a wrecked Aries soon surrounded DreadScythe. Then, DreadScythe disappeared altogether and one by one, so did the rest of the Gundams until only the Aries was left. Pyrone's face showed up on the screens of each Gundam cockpit, and something about him wasn't right.  
  
"Hey Pyrone, where's your hair?" Duo jeered.  
  
"Pattern baldness runs in the family," Tre joked.  
  
"Ah ha! That's really funny," Pyrone said sarcastically. "Suck mine and go to Hell."  
  
"Oh come on, Pyrone," Trowa said. "It doesn't look that bad on you."  
  
"Sure, because you think it's a riot, Barton," Pyrone spat.  
  
"Pyrone, it's an ancient Chinese honor to have no hair," Wufei consoled.  
  
"Great for the Chinese," Pyrone huffed. Wufei scowled.  
  
The seven suits came closer to the colony that Tre called home and then the Aries sent out an emergency docking call and then the DreadScythe broke away from the group to take out the security perimeter around the colony. The rest of he Gundams waited just outside the colony hangar as Pyrone crashed the suit into the hangar. The mangled Aries had disabled the rest of the suits to launch, giving Tre a little more time to work in comfortable margins.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Come on, let's just die peaceably,' Tre thought as the sword plunged deep into the Taurus suit.  
  
He and Heero had taken out over half the security perimeter of the colony without so much as hearing an alarm. Several of the suits were already floating about like rag dolls, with small trickles of blood coming from the cockpit area in the torso of the suits. Tre had just released the suit he had just been working on and pulled out the beam cannon. He told Heero to do the same as he primed the weapon and readied it for a large beam. He aimed it at the elevator protection and fired. The enormous golden beams streaked into outer space, several orange fireballs appeared around them as both destroyed the majority of the remaining suits. Then, DreadScythe HELL and Neo Wing Zero slowly sneaked toward the elevator door as sirens and alarms went off on all the security channels. Tre tapped into their communications and listened to reports of resistance in the hangar and on the outside of the colony. The word 'ghosts' was heard very often. Tre proceeded to jam all communications on the British channels and then, he heard nothing except communications between the Gundams.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Five minutes earlier-  
  
"Sir, are you all right?" a couple of worried lieutenants floated toward the wrecked Aries.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine," Pyrone said with a pained tone. He was faking it, but they didn't know that.  
  
"Well, you're bleeding, sir," one lieutenant explained.  
  
Pyrone looked at the red spot on his suit that he had just made, "Oh, Christ!"  
  
"Quick, Peter," the other lieutenant said. "Let's get him inside!"  
  
They lifted Pyrone together and all three floated to the airlock up on the balcony overlooking the hangar. They looked at each other and the damage that Pyrone had caused.  
  
"Looks like you boys can't launch your mobile suits," Pyrone sounded fatigued.  
  
"That shouldn't be a problem, Major," the lieutenant soothed. "It's not likely an attack will happen anytime soon."  
  
Just then, gunfire was heard and several suits blew up. The bullets seemed to come from nowhere and so did the fire. Sort of like...  
  
"GHOSTS!!" the two lieutenants shrieked.  
  
Dropping their grip on Pyrone, they kicked off toward the control room and Pyrone followed. They attempted to shut the doors to the hangar while the hangar task force came out. Pyrone knocked out the two lieutenants from behind, took off the helmet in the atmosphere ready room, and then ripped the bald cap off of his head. He then shed the pale blue OZ spacesuit and instead walked around in his black flight suit. He took his sidearm off of the safety setting and walked in nonchalantly, toward the tallest building in the entire colony: the office building of the former Young Corporation.  
  
That is where his father would be and no doubt that Tre was already on his way toward the building now. Pyrone was steadily walking toward the building but was held back by something. A beggar was clutching the pant leg of his flight suit and how strange this beggar was...  
  
"Mr. Young?" Pyrone breathed.  
  
"Yes, Pyrone," Matt Young answered. "I am here."  
  
"Boy is Tre going to be glad to see you," Pyrone kept his voice down.  
  
"That's the problem," a female voice said. "My little brother shouldn't be coming here; it's too dangerous for him now!"  
  
"That's where you're wrong, Nikki," Pyrone said. "He's a ghost as far as the British are concerned."  
  
"What?" Matt panicked. "Is he dead?"  
  
"No, he was believed to be dead by the British," Pyrone explained. "But, his new Gundam has this power to cloak itself completely like a ghost does, without a trace."  
  
"Ah," Matt understood. "So he's still alive and well."  
  
"Yep," Pyrone laughed. "And, he's about to take this colony back riiight...NOW!"  
  
As Pyrone said now, a blast was heard in the distance. Then, DreadScythe HELL materialized from out of nowhere, as did Neo Zero. The two Gundams slowly scanned the colony for any enemy mobile suits. Matt's eyes were flooded with tears and Nikki had already broken down crying from joy. They were going to be in power once again and have their lives back. Pyrone gave them a small cell phone and told them that he would call them once they had control of the colony again, then he said goodbye and ran off to join Tre and Heero in freeing his father.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Once we're done here," Heero said to Tre, "we can get your parents back in power."  
  
"And then the British won't ever touch this colony again," Tre said.  
  
The two were currently lowering themselves from their Gundams' cockpits. The ride took a while due to the height of the machines. Once down they tugged hard on the cables and they retracted expediously. Then, the cockpit doors closed automatically. Tre and Heero shed their spacesuits, and underneath were decked in SWAT team coveralls with earpieces and communicators wrapping their necks. They both loaded their Deutsche D5K guns with banana clips and proceeded to Tre's office building.  
  
If the plan they had formulated on the shuttle went accordingly, the only threats that remained for these two were the security personnel inside. The rest of the British occupying the colony were either dead or busy getting killed at the moment. Tre and Heero crouched behind a large bush in front of the building's main entrance and a rustling behind them startled both. Wheeling around, guns ready the two were surprised to see Pyrone, as he was surprised to be held at gunpoint. Raising his hands, Pyrone laughed nervously, and then Tre and Heero lowered their weapons. Pyrone crouched behind them, spying the two-man security blockade at the front desk. All three nodded and slowly separated as Pyrone went inside, while Heero and Tre took wither side of the doors. Pyrone walked in and said,  
  
"I'd like to see my father, Theodore Reigns."  
  
"I'm sorry, but Mr. Reigns is very busy at the moment," the guard said.  
  
"Too busy to see his only son?" Pyrone asked, playing surprised.  
  
"Yes sir, I'm afraid he's specifically said that no one may visit."  
  
Just then, the phone rang and both guards looked down at it. Pyrone drew his pistol, quick as a flash, and struck both guards over their heads. He also got a shot off and the doors flew open as Tre and Heero stormed the desk and seized the guards. They were relieved of their firearms and were taken outside behind the thickest bushes and bound to a tree. Tre and Heero struck them over the heads several times, to make sure they were going to be unconscious for at least an hour.  
  
Then, all three pilots entered the building again. Each time they rounded a corner, Tre and Heero cautiously investigated their surroundings. Then, peeking around a corner, they saw what they needed to get to Mr. Reigns: the elevator. Two men, both armed very well guarded it and it was also required of the rider to have clearance codes to punch into the keypad. Tre told Pyrone the code and told him to go to the elevator and stop on the third floor once he got in. They would notify him that they were on the elevator by banging lightly on the roof.  
  
Pyrone nodded, and then Tre led Heero to the service elevator. A lone old man guarded the service elevator and he was fast asleep. Tre pressed the button to open the doors. The bell awakened the guard and he asked,  
  
"Who goes there?"  
  
"It's alright, old man," Tre put on a foney British accent.  
  
"Are you going to see Mr. Reigns?" the man looked around with a clouded gaze.  
  
"He's blind," Heero whispered.  
  
"Who is?" the old man asked. "Hello?"  
  
Tre and Heero got in the elevator and the door shut behind them. Heero pressed the button for the third floor. As the elevator rose, they both knocked open the roof hatch and squeezed through it to access the roof. They both hopped from one support beam to the other, trying to get to the main elevator on the third floor. They saw the car as it was still sitting at the first floor. What was going on?  
  
Little did they know, Pyrone was still trying to get in the elevator. On his way toward the guards, he decided to make a pit stop. Then, he proceeded toward the guards. They stopped him to ask him some questions.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"I am Pyrone Theodore Reigns, son of Theodore Reigns," Pyrone calmly explained. "I would like to see my father."  
  
"Did the desk tell you that he was to be left alone?" one guard asked.  
  
"They did, but he called them and said to send me up."  
  
"We would have known if the desk got a call like that because they would have told us right after."  
  
"Well, believe what you want, but I know that I want to see my father."  
  
"Wait here, and don't leave this spot until I come back," one guard said.  
  
As he walked away, Pyrone watched him. Then he pulled out a handkerchief and pretended to sneeze. The guard watched, and Pyrone folded the handkerchief as the small vial slid out of the cloth and into Pyrone's hand. Pyrone pointed to a painting on the wall nearby and the guard looked. Pyrone threw the vial down onto the ground and it burst open. A purple fog billowed from the vial, and the guard couldn't see the fist Pyrone threw his way. With the guard knocked out, Pyrone entered the code for the elevator and confiscated the gun from the guard. The doors of the elevator car slid shut and Pyrone allowed it to rise to the third floor. It stopped at the prescribed floor and the doors slid open.  
  
Tre and Heero saw that the car had risen to the desired floor and both jumped onto the car's roof, softly landing on it. The mechanism that opened and closed the doors made the doors slide shut and Heero tapped lightly with the butt of his gun on the roof. Pyrone tapped back in acknowledgment and pushed the button for the top floor. The car rose rapidly, Heero and Tre crouching on the roof.  
  
"Tre?" Heero called for his companion.  
  
"Yeah, Heero?" Tre answered.  
  
"I wonder sometimes about my feelings for Serena."  
  
"How do you mean?"  
  
"I've been taught and trained to not have emotions or feelings," Heero started. "Yet, when I only know this girl for one night, she and I suddenly fall in love and...uh-"  
  
"Yeah, I know," Tre stopped him. "I think what you're getting at is are we in love with these girls because of Fate or because we see something in these girls?"  
  
"Exactly," Heero affirmed. "Are we forced to love them?"  
  
"What do you think?" Tre wondered.  
  
"I think I want to make Serena happy no matter what," Heero admitted. "That's how I feel about her."  
  
"Hmm," Tre nodded. "I think that Fate has put us together, but we found something in them that instantly drew us to them. Mina and I have been waiting for a long time to get reunioned, and so have the rest of you guys. It's hard to explain, but you'll find out. Anyway, we're at our floor."  
  
The car had been stopped at the top floor for quite some time. Heero, in his reviere, had failed to notice this. His training was failing him as Serena intoxicated his mind. Tre was already scaling down the ladder along side the elevator car. The large car was already returning to the first floor, and Heero jumped onto the ladder, just below Tre.  
  
Tre checked on Heero as the car passed his companion, and used his telekinetic power to open the doors. They slid open easily and Tre scaled the ladder to hop in the opened doors. A hand met him, Pyrone's hand. The older pilot helped his two comrades into the hallway from the elevator shaft. When all were out of the shaft, Tre shut the doors.  
  
"Ready?" Tre asked.  
  
"Affirmative," Heero said.  
  
"Let's go," Pyrone answered.  
  
Pyrone led the way, Tre and Heero following with their guns ready. Pyrone approached the secretary's desk to ask for admittance. She saw the other two with guns and gave no argument, letting the men in.  
  
They opened the large wooden doors to the office and saw Theo Reigns sitting in the large executive chair behind the large desk. He smiled when he saw his son and Tre. Rising from the chair to greet the three young men, Theo's heart went into a rapid beat as the two downstairs guards burst into the room, guns about to blaze. Tre rounded on them and opened fire. The two were caught off guard and were bomabrded with bullets. They flipped backwards from the extreme force of the bullets hitting their upper torso. Still alive, they were trying to right themselves as Heero and Pyrone confiscated their weapons, and flipped them onto their backs. No blood was found on the bodies...  
  
"They're wearing bullet-proof vests," Theo explained. "I designed them myself and I now have had the chance to see how well they work.  
  
"They work well," Heero said. "Tre didn't kill them."  
  
"I know that, young man," Theo said shortly. "Which one are you?"  
  
"Heero Yuy," Heero introduced himself.  
  
"Ah yes, Heero Yuy," Theo mused. "I've heard of your escapades."  
  
"Mr. Reigns," Tre voiced. "I am in dire need of your help to regain control of these colonies."  
  
"What is it you need?"  
  
"The Space Wasps," Tre answered. "Are they ready or not?"  
  
"Well, you could say that they are," Theo said. "Or, you could say they aren't. Why do you need them so badly?"  
  
"The Gundams aren't going to be enough in a final battle should the British stage one," Heero explained. "We'll need some assistance."  
  
"I see," Theo said. "Well, they aren't ready."  
  
Tre was livid, "What do you mean they aren't ready? You've had multiple resources to build these fucking things and what have you to give me? They aren't ready? What the HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?"  
  
"We're going to need a lot of pilots, Tre," Theo said. "That's why they aren't ready."  
  
Tre felt very sheepish for yelling like that, especially at a friend. He felt absolutely terrible and yet very childish and selfish. His temper was flaring up an awful lot lately, a fault he surely would have to control.  
  
"The pilots can be found," Tre said. "Just give me the truth: are the actual craft ready for a battle?"  
  
"Yes, the crafts are prepared for a full battle right now," Theo sighed.  
  
"Good," Heero said. "Pyrone, call Tre's relatives and get them up here."  
  
"Right," Pyrone said, pressing the speed dial on his phone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Later that day, Nightshift had docked inside a private hangar reserved for the Young family and all seven of its occupants were brought to the tall office building of Young Corp. Soon after, another shuttle carrying the rest of Tre's family and Doctor X docked into the private hangar and a stretch limo was waiting for them. The sidewalks were lined with the well-wishing citizens of the colony, glad that their freedom had returned with the Young family. The colony was no longer under the control of the British and Matt Young was once again taking control of the multi-quadrillion dollar business that he owned and created from a penniless existence.  
  
The Gundams were all safely tucked into a secret hangar connected by a system of tunnels that could get the pilots to their machines in an instant.  
  
Tre was anxious to see his family, and especially his mom. He had met up with his dad and Nikki already, and was very glad to see that they were alive, even after being tortured. Both were showered and cleaned up, looking professional. Tre had elected to change into his black outfit, the long sleeve shirt, loose jeans, and sleeveless trench coat. Nikki was anxious to see her daughter Missy, after being separated from her little angel because of those British military men.  
  
"So, you excited?" Tre asked his eldest sister.  
  
"Absolutely," she answered shakily.  
  
"You're very nervous," Tre said.  
  
"Really? No shit," Nikki laughed.  
  
Just after she said that, the doors opened and the rest of the Young family walked in. Tre and Nikki both approached them at a rapid gate. Missy came out from behind Jade Young, yelling,  
  
"MOMMY!"  
  
"Missy!" Nikki hugged her daughter.  
  
Tre and his mother embraced, Jade Young crying her eyes out. Tre was crying too, glad that his mother was safe and that his little brother-to-be was safe also. They both stood there, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, they finally looked at each other. Tre wiped a tear off his mother's face. Then, Tre was attacked by his other siblings, getting hugs from all his sisters and brothers. Once everyone was hugged and caught up by Tre, he waved Mina over.   
  
"Mom, Dad, guys," Tre addressed his family. "This is my girlfriend, Mina Aino. She and her friends are from the past and they're here to help us Gundam pilots. Mina, this is my eldest sister Nikki, my older brothers Anthony, Jason, and Derrick. These are my other sisters, Ashley, Julia, Mika, and Crystal."  
  
"Well, nice to meet you, Mina," Matt bowed.  
  
"Arigato," Mina used her native language. "It is nice to meet all of Tre's family. It sure is a big family!"  
  
They laughed, it was true that they had a big family. Mina was quick to find out that all Tre's brothers were triplets and the younger of his sisters were all quadruplets. They all gravitated toward each other in bond shared only by children of multiple births. She felt safe around them, like she did with Tre. But she was still wary of them all.  
  
Tre began to catch up with his siblings. Over the past six months that they had aged, he found out that Anthony had married his girlfriend of over three years. She was a well-known local rock musician in a band called Thresher. Jason and Derrick had gone on to produce records and record their own records for a small label. They called themselves 2 Thirds and did all their own music. As for the girls, Tre found out that Ashley had opened a tattoo and piercing parlor on the far side of the colony, far from home. Mika worked there as a partner with her sister, and as for Crystal and Julia, well they great things going for them. Julia was engaged to a pilot for the Air Force and she planned on working at the base as a mechanic. Crystal was going to open her own restaurant soon and she was having a baby in about three months. Her boyfriend had proposed to her only a month before she got pregnant, and she accpeted of course.  
  
"Wow," Tre said. "A lot of things have happened while I was gone, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," Anthony said. "What happened to you, bro?"  
  
"Me?" Tre asked. "Well, I'm not supposed to be alive, because the British have declared me dead."  
  
"Those mother fuckers," Jason seethed. "They tried to kill you?"  
  
"Uh huh," Tre answered. "Thankfully, DreadScythe ejected me out of harm's way in time."  
  
"Gundams," Julia scoffed. "Why couldn't you have been a pilot with Jeff?"  
  
"Because," Tre said. "I have a Gundam to use and I have a duty to the colonies, that's why!"  
  
"You would be so much more safe if you were an Air Force pilot and not a Gundam pilot," she argued.  
  
"Julia, I am not a pilot that wants to risk my life a little bit everyday. I want to risk my life everday with the thought of not surviving going through my head at all times," Tre said.  
  
"If you die," Crystal said. "What then? What would that accompish?"  
  
"I will have done that good for the colonies," Tre said. "I'd be a martyr, and that's the worst thing the British want me to be at this point; even worse than me being a Gundam pilot."  
  
"Dude," Derrick started. "You could come be in our band, you're an awesome guitar and bass player."  
  
"Thanks," Tre said. "But no. I want to be a Gundam pilot. Period, end of sentence."  
  
Mina watched as Tre looked at each of his siblings in turn, seeing as they wouldn't get their way. He then turned and left, to eat. Mina approached him at the table, and sat down to tell him something.  
  
"Tre," Mina started. "I have something to tell you."  
  
"What is it?" Tre asked sincerely.  
  
"I'm not just one life anymore," she tried to explain.  
  
"Uh huh," Tre responded. He knew what she meant, but he wanted to let her tell him in her own way.  
  
"I am carrying another life in me," she stuttered.  
  
"So you're possessed," Tre concluded jokingly.  
  
"No, not exactly," Mina said. "I'm...Tre, I'm pregnant."  
  
Tre acted like he was caught off guard. His expression was that of surprise at first, then into an expression of joy and comforting as Mina began to well up. Hugging her, he soothed her,  
  
"Mina, that's great! You and I are going to start our own family and we're going to have so much fun with the baby. This is a good thing, why are you crying?"  
  
"I'm scared," she sobbed. "I don't know how to handle it. I mean, I'm still a Sailor Soldier."  
  
"I know that," Tre said. "But this doesn't mean you have to stop now! You still have another nine months to go with this; you've only been with it for two days, right?"  
  
"How did you know?" Mina asked.  
  
"I have mental abilities, you know."  
  
"Oh. I forgot."  
  
"So, don't worry about it."  
  
"OK."  
  
She dried her eyes and joined Tre in having dinner. Heero and Serena joined them, shortly after a long conversation with Tre's siblings. They were so unlike Tre, at least that's what Heero thought. Serena couldn't care less because she was having a good time talking with Tre's quadruplet sisters. Speaking of Serena, the odango haired blonde was eating plate after plate of full dinner entrees. Tre could not believe what he was seeing, and neither could Heero. Boy was it going to be hard to keep food stocked in his house!  
  
After everyone had finished dinner, Matt Young took the podium and started to announce something very important.  
  
"No one will report that this gathering had my youngest son, Tre, here attending it. As far as the British are concerned, he is dead and it needs to stay that way in order for Tre and the other Gundam pilots to win the war against the British and their autocratic regime."  
  
Everyone understood the announcement and went about their business once again. About after midnight, the party started to wind down and guests were beginning to take their leave. When the last had gone from the high office, Tre, his father and mother, Pyrone and his father, the Sailor Scouts, and the other Gundam pilots were gathered around a small circle in the carpet of the office. Matt pressed a button on his shirt sleeve and the circle started to descend past the floor.  
  
When all the heads had cleared the floor line, a hatch closed above them, concealing the opening. As the platform descended, a warroom was seen with people rushing about or sitting at consoles attending to late breaking information. The platform stopped and all the occupants stepped off and headed to a large illuminated table. Several high ranking officers were already gathered around it.  
  
"Ah, good to see you again, Mr. Young," a gray-haired and muscular general greeted Matt.  
  
"Yes, it's good to be back, General Raynard," Matt shook his hand.  
  
"Tre," the general nodded.  
  
"General," Tre smirked.  
  
"Let's get to the point," a uniformed woman started. "The British around this colony have been eliminated and no reinforcements have been called in. Which means only one thing."  
  
"WE did our job perfectly in taking over this colony," Heero stated.  
  
"Yes," a bespectacled and frail military man said. "You have infiltrated and seized power."  
  
"So what is all this?" Serena asked excitedly. "Is it Christmas lights?"  
  
"No, they aren't Christmas lights," the general sighed. "They are positions of enemy suits."  
  
"Oh, so they're concentrated around the remaining L3 colonies," Tre said. "Why?"  
  
"Maximum security for the few days before the wedding," the bespectacled man said.  
  
"That little bitch of a princess has gone too far by trying to overrun my colony," Tre spat.  
  
Jade Young looked very uneasy when Tre made this comment, and she stared at her son with a very guilty gaze. He happened to glance in her direction and catch the look on her face. She walked away from the table at this point, holding a hand over her mouth. She felt sick, and very uncomfortable. Did someone raise the heat in the room? She couldn't breathe very well and she became panicked. Tre rested his hands on his mother's shoulders, and she instantly calmed down. Tre rubbed her back as he asked for a couple of chairs. She sat in a chair while he sat in the other.  
  
"Tell me what's wrong, Mom," Tre requested.  
  
"I can't keep this secret from you anymore, son," Jade said sadly.  
  
"What secret?"  
  
"Princess Elizabeth of the British is your half-sister," Jade spoke. She felt naseous and vomited on the floor.   
  
Tre bolted from his seat the moment he heard his mother speak that last word. She had felt so sick about it, and she vomited all over the floor. Tre felt sick now; that bitch was his half-sister? Matt, Theo, and Pyrone all tried to make her feel better while Mina, Duo, and Lita tried to console Tre. Tre was trying to keep from going all over the floor like his mother.  
  
"Mom, you can't be serious," Tre said shakily.  
  
"When I was 18, I donated some of my eggs to the British Royal Family for their continuing genetic research," Jade explained.  
  
"No," Tre said lowly.  
  
"Back then, it wasn't corrupt and I figured I was helping. I was very young. I found out that the queen and king used it for artificial insemination and raised the embryo inside the queen herself."  
  
"No, she can't be my sister," Tre choked.  
  
"She is your sister by my genes, Tre," Jade sobbed. "I'm sorry."  
  
"FUCK!!!" Tre shouted, rounding on a nearby table and smashing it.  
  
"So help us, God," a Scottish voice was heard.  
  
"You knew about this?" Tre hissed at the doctor.  
  
"Aye," the doctor sighed. "'Tis a sad thing to learn, laddy."  
  
Tre grabbed the man by his collar and put him up against a wall, "WHY!?!"  
  
"Calm down," Doctor X said. "It isn't as bad as it seems."  
  
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN!?!"  
  
"She is your half-sister," the doctor explained. "And therefore you are a member of the Royal Family and cannot be killed and neither can your family."  
  
"How?"  
  
"It's coded in THEIR genes not to kill their own family members, but you can kill them easily if you wanted because it is NOT coded in YOUR genes."  
  
Tre breathed heavily for a few minutes, staring daggers at the doctor. Then, he let the Scottish man down and walked around the warroom. His mother was still crying because of the news he had just received. Tre looked at the other Gundam pilots and said,  
  
"We need a plan. Anyone got any bright ideas?"  
  
"I have a plan," Amy said meekly. "It's very risky, and highly dangerous."  
  
"What is it, Amy?" Heero asked.   
  
"Well, if I could just connect my computer to the large screen-"  
  
She swung her Mercury computer toward the large screen, and it began to flicker. It went into static, then something showed up on it. It matched what was on the Mercury computer. Tre saw a diagram of the Royal Palace inside a far off L3 colony and the floor plans for the massive ballroom and dining hall that spanned the entire third floor of the palace.  
  
"What I-uh...propose we do, um, is-"  
  
"Amy," Quatre stopped her. "It's OK, but be brave."  
  
She nodded, and continued, "What I propose we do is this: we infiltrate the colony using the cloaking technology of the DreadScythe HELL. Then, some of you Gundam pilots would stay in your Gundams, monitoring the situation from the vantage of your Gundams, while the rest of us disguise ourselves as attendees of the party or as servants. After we have successfully done that, we will poison the food of the Royal Family and get out of there before the rest of the colony knows what's going on.  
  
"After the death of the Royal Family, we could break the news of your heritage to the throne as the only living relatives of the Royal Family. And then, you'll control the military of the British and peace will once again reign in space."  
  
"Sounds good," Wufei commented. "What if the family has people who test their food before they eat it?"  
  
"They would have no use for that in their own palace," Trowa reasoned.  
  
"But, what if they did?" Quatre insisted. "We would have to have a back-up plan."  
  
"Take a few firearms with us into the party, concealed by our clothing," Duo suggested. "That way, we have a chance to defend ourselves."  
  
'This is getting better and better,' Tre thought triumphantly.  
  
"So we agree?" Pyrone asked.  
  
"Yes," Serena said. "I speak on behalf of all the Sailor Soldiers here."  
  
"We are ready to do what we can as Gundam pilots," Heero answered.  
  
"Then let's get this shit going," Tre said.  
  
So, how's that for a major plot twist, huh? Tre and that princess are related, that sucks. Oh BTW, please review this story after you've read it because I really could use more reviews.  
  
Ja ne, minna-san 


	24. Engage

After almost two years, I am finally ready to unveil the latest installment to my masterpiece, which I promise to finish by the end of this upcoming summer. College life has gotten to me now, so I don't know how well I'll be able to make good on that promise, but I will try. But don't fret, I can tell you that the end of the story is not too far away. I am trying to work out a sequel that will chronicle the lives of the children of these beautiful couples, but its debut probably won't happen for a while. Anyway, enjoy. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Gundam Wing, but I do own Tre and Pyrone.

Chapter 24 - Engage

The palace was bustling with activity as preparations were being made for a grand engagement party that was happening that night. The servants were always on their feet, never a moment of rest. The king and princess were being fitted for their outfits that they were wearing that night and Shawn was also getting his Wing Commander uniform spiffy and buttons shiny. He spared no commodity in making sure that his uniform looked top notch for that night. It started out a happy day for the British, but would soon turn very ugly.

"Arsenic?" Duo asked.   
"Check," Quatre answered.   
"Cyanide?"   
"Check."   
"And, for Plan B," Duo started. "Uzi's for all people?"   
"Check, and 9mm pistols for extra precaution," Quatre added.   
"Alright, Q-man," Duo clapped the Arabian on the back. "You're just as prepared as I remember."   
"It's just being prepared for anything, Duo," Quatre blushed.   
"Nah, it's keeping your ass alive," Pyrone walked in. "How we doing?"   
"We have all the poisons ready," Duo ticked off his fingers. "We have the dresses and tuxes, the guns, the battle plan, and the back-up plan."   
"Excellent, Tre is just now getting ready," Pyrone stifled a laugh. "You should see him."   
"Why?" Quatre asked.   
"Because he looks so gay!" Pyrone laughed.

Just then, Tre entered the room in a tight waiters outfit with a thin mustache and a toupee covering his dreadlocks. Tre looked pissed and uncomfortable with tight black slacks, a white dress shirt, a red vest, and a red bow tie. Pyrone was beside himself with laughter, and Quatre was fighting to keep his face straight. Duo, however, was unable to control his laughter and was just short of rolling on the floor. That was it for Quatre, who could no longer contain it. Tre put an extremely pissed look on his face and said,

"You guyths are tho mean!"   
"He even talks gay!" Duo pointed out, still laughing. "I think I'm going to piss my pants!"   
"Tre, how can you do this to yourself?" Quatre asked sarcastically.   
"Oh, I don't know," Tre said. "It comths with being gay, I gueth! Tah!"

He strutted out of the room, and then took the clothes off immediately. He was so constricted and he couldn't breathe in that outfit. Why did he have to be the waiter? Why couldn't he have duties in the Gundam? That really made him pissed. He was standing almost near naked in the living room, but he was still wearing his black boxers. He was thankful for that much, at least. Then, he had an idea. He could easily transform into the waiter outfit from the regular garb he usually wore if he could somehow make the toupee into a sort of transform tool. He concentrated on calling for Queen Serenity and asked for her assistance on this matter. She told him what to do, and he performed the task.

He tried on the toupee and he was suddenly feeling like he was suffocating. Yep, it worked! He ripped the toupee off, and all the sudden he was back in his boxers. He dressed like he normally did, asked Duo for his pair of Uzis, the shotgun, and his pistols. Tre stuffed each gun in its regular place on his person, and then he put the toupee on. He was suffocating again, and then took it off. The guns were still there, and he didn't even feel them when in 'waiter mode' and that was important.

As for the girls, each was deciding what they would wear to the party. Tre's sisters had surrendered their entire wardrobes to the Scouts, and even the dresses that had been bought were not enough choices. Funny how girls never seem to know what to wear.

"I want to wear this green slip," Lita said. "But, then again, this emerald gown just seems too lovely."   
"Lita, anything just looks too lovely," Serena said. "I'll go with this silver evening gown."   
"I'm not so sure I want to go anymore," Mina said. "Why not?" Amy asked, holding a dress in front of her own self, looking in a mirror. "You haven't had a reservation about going to a party before."   
"We'll be right there with you, Mina," Raye reassured. "You won't have to worry about a thing," Michelle said. "I'll be watching from the stage and you'll be fine."   
"The British have invited almost half the galaxy, so you wouldn't be picked out as Tre's 'surviving widow' unless spoken to," Trista said.

Mina started to feel better about her part of the plan. She was supposed to go to the party as Tre's widow and start the commotion if the poison didn't work, taking the fall for it. That's when Plan B would begin and Hell would break loose.

"I can't believe I'm not able to fit in this," Crystal whined. "Why'd I have to get pregnant?"   
"Because you got too dick happy, sis," Julia laughed.   
"What's it like?" Mina asked. "Being pregnant?"   
"It's a pain, honey," Crystal said. "I love kids, but at this expense?"   
"Oh, come on," Mika said. "It can't be THAT bad."   
"OK, let's see how you feel after lugging an extra eighty pounds around after nine months!" Crystal yelled.   
"But you're only six months through," Ashley said. "I still feel like a whale," Crystal moaned.   
"Then do us all a favor," Julia said, "and beach yourself."

The rest of the bunch laughed aloud, Crystal gunning for her sister. Luckily, most of the girls held Crystal back from Julia. Julia was in fits with laughter at how good her joke was. Suddenly, the entire menagerie was summoned by a distraction.

"Ladies, over here for a sec," a voice called from the door.

The girls, all in their underwear (except Mina), turned to the voice. There was Duo, camera in hand at the doorway, which he used to snap a picture and bolt. The girls were infuriated! They chased Duo out of their room and most the way into the hallway before they realized what they were doing. Grumbling, they retreated to the room once more.

"So, you're the guy my sister fell in love with?" Tre asked an Air Force officer that just arrived at the house.   
"Yes, sir," the officer smiled. "I am he; Captain Jeffrey Gray."   
"Nice to meet ya," Tre shook his hand. "Gundam pilot Tre Young; break my sister's heart, and you've just signed your funeral notice."

Capt. Gray's eyes bulged in horror. Tre smirked, then laughed, slapping the brother-in-law-to-be on the shoulder. Gray just stood there, unsure of what to do.

"I'm just kidding, pal," Tre laughed. "Look, I'm not threatening ya-yet."   
"Roger that, sir," Gray said respectfully.   
"Are you a Neo Falcon pilot, Jeff?" Tre asked.   
"Yes sir," Gray said proudly. "1st Battalion's second-in-command. I'm under a major with absolutely no sense in combat."   
"That sucks," Tre said.   
"You have no idea, sir," Gray said. "I could fly ten times better than him and still not break a sweat! It's so unfair to have to serve underneath someone so incompetent."   
"Well, how long ago did you receive your captain's tracks?" Tre asked.   
"Two years ago, sir," Gray said. "And I've been passed for promotion due to my lackey 'superior'; I think he knows that if I were to pass him in the ranks that it would be over for him."   
Tre thought over this for a minute, then, "When you first came under your first superior (never mind this asshole you're under now), did you obey orders well?" "Yes sir!" Gray said. "I was always by the book and I never disobeyed an order. In fact, I followed them so well that I was promoted early."   
"If you do something for me, then I'll see to it personally that your service record gets looked over thoroughly and evaluated by a real professional," Tre said. "Then, you'll be guaranteed promotion and that major will go down in flames - literally."

Gray looked at him for a moment, just to be sure he wasn't joking; he wasn't. Gray nodded, confirming this to Tre. Tre said,

"Good. Here's what I want you to do."

After hours of preparation and briefings, the group was ready to go into action. At the very last minute, a messenger showed up with an invitation to the engagement party for anyone surviving Tre Young, including family and any significant others. Tre knew all along that this would happen, reason behind his telling his siblings and parents to dress for the party. But at the last minute, he told Mina to change into an outfit he brought out and even changed her role in the back-up plan. Finally, he gave everyone a last briefing before they loaded up to go to the party.

"This is for real, everyone," Tre said with utmost urgency.   
"Tre, you do your part and we'll do ours," Pyrone said, creaking the leather of his fingerless gloves by flexing his fist.   
"You just make sure that you, Heero, Wufei, and Trowa are accurate."   
"Like I said," Pyrone smirked.   
"I feel ya," Tre said. "Everyone ready?"

The reply was unanimous from the large group. Tre opened the door for them and two limos were waiting outside for them all. Tre accounted for everyone: Mom, Dad, Anthony and his wife, Jason, Derrick, Ashley, Mika, Crystal and Tom, Duo and Lita, Quatre and Amy, Michelle, Trista, Raye, Serena...where was Julia? Tre looked around for his sister and found her glaring him down.

"What?" Tre said angrily.   
"Where did you send Jeff?" she interrogated.   
"He's on an assignment that could boost his career!" Tre said.   
Julia cursed, "He said he didn't have anything to do! This was his day off! That fucking liar!"   
"I sent him on it, Julia!" Tre yelled. "Get in the car, go to the party. NOW!!"

She glared at him as she stalked out toward the car. Mina looked at Tre; he looked back, eyeing her up and down in her outfit. She wore a form-fitting black military suit, one in which that could tell her if she was too lit up to be hidden and would adjust its temperature to comfort her, in addition to a pair of light boots secured tightly over the hems of the suit. Strapped to her waist was a pair of compact 9mm submachine guns and on her right leg, secured in a holster, was a silenced 9mm pistol. He sensed something was wrong, so he asked her,

"What's wrong, yo?"   
"I can't fire a gun," Mina said.   
"It's OK," Tre said. "Your gun is filled with blanks, so you won't hurt anyone. That make you feel better?"   
"I guess," Mina said uneasily. "What if they don't take the bait?"   
"They will," Tre assured. "I see them now, their adrenaline will be pumping and they will not think anything else but to come after you."

She embraced him, still unsure. He hugged her back, making her feel as though everything were right with the world. She let go and they went off in their separate directions. Tre had taught her how to use the jetbike that she was headed for now and he took a final head count. Finally, with all the people out of the house and on their way to the spaceport, Tre swung the door shut and locked it.

By this time, Tre had transformed into Sailor Universe and flew off separate from everyone else to an undisclosed location to meet with some one he deemed important to tonight's mission. He had flown around the British colony for what seemed an eternity until he landed at the agreed meeting location.

He touched down softly, his sunglasses covering his eyes from the other party meeting with him. The M16A2 strapped to his shoulder glowed with his dark power briefly, illuminating the alleyway just enough for him to see the other person clearly. He smirked as she emerged from the darkness cloaking her.

"Nice of you to meet me here," he said.   
"I'm so glad you asked me to meet with you," the voice returned.   
"Do you know what I am asking of you, though?"   
"I'm sure I can handle it just fine, Tre Young," the figure said as it emerged into the light from the streets; it was Dorothy Catalonia.

The young girl was wearing the same dress she wore to Queen Relena's coronation. Her pale blue eyes shone dangerously underneath her wicked looking eyebrows, the long sheet of platinum blonde hair contrasting her outfit sharply. The click of her heels reverberated off the brick walls of the alley. She stopped right before him, eyeing him up and down in his black uniform.

"If this mission should go wrong, I want you to immediately alert the Earthsphere authorities and Vice Foreign Minister Dorlean. The British must be put to a stop, you understand?"   
"Quite the contrary, Tre Jason Young," she laughed derisively. "The British must be allowed to go ahead with their plans, and then, when they have their backs turned, you can strike from the shadows; they would never expect it."   
"While I appreciate it, you must do as I ask," Universe urged. "It is imperative."   
"I understand," she said. "Happy hunting."

With that, Universe flew off to his venue, leaving the woman to walk back to her waiting limo. As she did, she mused silently to herself about Tre.

"My, my, my; if that boy wasn't so enamored with that silly girl, I'd just as soon have him for myself."

The cold, dark space around the British colony was still and silent as multitudes of mobile dolls and manned Taurus suits stood sentinel over the colony. A mobile suit captain was checking over a few instruments when all the sudden he felt several violent jolts rock his suit. Out of his side screen, he saw a single craft with the shape of a Neo Falcon slip away toward the Youngs' colony. He raised his battalion:

"Right then! Third flight group, after that pest! Squash him like an insect."   
"Roger, sir," was the reply.

A group of about ten suits - dolls and manned alike - rocketed after the craft in a tight formation. Then, from out of nowhere, there was a flash of navy blue and all of them ceased to exist. The captain called after them to check on their progress after he saw the explosions. He called out several times, then without a reply, he brought up the battalion status screen: sure enough, amidst the green outlines of the fresh suits, ten of them were flashing red, meaning that they were gone.

The small craft was a Space Wasp, the very first to be combat-operational and flown by none other than Air Force Captain Jeffrey Gray. Gray whooped and hollered like a redneck at a rodeo as he banked-and-yanked all over the realm of space in the amazingly agile craft. He was unconstrained by the effects of G-Forces, since there was no gravity out here in space to harbor that awful effect. Gray was amazed at how his piloting skills were when in free space. The Space Wasp reacted to his thoughts it seemed. Each movement of the control stick of course did activate the appropriate control surface, but each surface had a Zero G Maneuvering Rocket assembly built into it to cause the craft to maneuver as it would in an atmosphere. Each time Gray pulled back on the stick, the elevator surfaces swung upwards on their axes and twin rockets on each surface fired for a period of time, forcing the craft to experience a simulated drag effect on that surface so as to make the craft "climb" until control pressure was neutralized on the stick. The same thing happened on the sharp turns: Gray swung the stick hard right, which fired a rocket on the bottom of the left wing to fire in conjunction with a rocket on the top of the right wing. Then, when he pulled back on the stick, the elevators would do their thing again. The intensity and length of the burst depended on how long or how fast a control stick motion came about. Gray could hardly contain himself, so he went back for another pass and fired at the same mobile suit he did before.

The mobile suit commander saw the same craft flit into his field of vision again, and he ordered every available suit to attack the bugger. Thus, every suit guarding the colony took flight after the plane, thinking it had destroyed an entire flight group. Then four Gundams appeared out of nowhere and entered the large elevator silently.

They looked menacing in the new, darker paint schemes made to make them less noticeable to the naked eye whilst they waited like silent statues with Backlash's newest weapon: a blown-up version of an M82A1A .50-caliber sniper rifle. This rifle had the look of a long, thin-barreled bazooka made for a Gundam, but it could deliver .50-caliber bullets in a number of different firing modes: it could be delivered in an automatic volley, by single shots, by clusters, or by simple sniper shots. Tonight, Pyrone was to administer one, single sniper shot to each member of the Royal Family and Shawn, regardless if the poison worked or not. This would ensure that they were in fact dead and gone.

The large rifle was full with about five hundred of the large caliber rounds, and the reason behind having this overly large weapon deliver a bullet that barely compared in size to its firing apparatus lie in just that - the difference of size. The fact that this particular gun is as big as it is is to ensure the most precise accuracy with the largest possible bullet to kill a human being without too much collateral damage. The length of the barrel and rifling of it provide for the most accurate hit, round after round. Doctor X designed and produced the weapon just a few weeks prior to Tre's arrival back to the future, and it was meant to be used by DreadScythe. However, Tre allowed Pyrone to use it with Backlash for tonight. The point to this is that during the firing trials, the rifle shot all five hundred rounds to the precise center of a target over five miles away on the automatic volley, all within a few centimeters of the exact center. Also with that stunning fact comes this: the muzzle velocity is just under the speed of light, meaning that the rifle's hits were instant, from time when the projectile left the muzzle to its impact on the target, making it quite the weapon to contend with.

Backlash eased out of the elevator into the darkened colony with the large rifle slung across its back. Wing Zero, Heavyarms, and Altron followed suit, silently padding to their intended attack point on a large hill that overlooked the palace from about two miles away. Backlash hunkered down in a crouch, with one knee on the ground, positioning the rifle securely onto its shoulder and the sights centered on where the king was going to sit that evening. The other three were covering Backlash from any sneak attackers, their watchful eyes scanning the colony's innards very carefully as to act on any out of place or threatening motion. Moments later, Pyrone radioed in:

"Toga team, this is Animal House One: let's crash the party."

All the remaining Gundam pilots and Sailor Scouts heard the message on their discrete earpieces, setting their plan into motion. Mina was circling the palace on a path that averaged about five miles in radius from the palace. Her heart was thumping violently against her chest hoping that she wouldn't have to resort to Plan B. Tre - whom was busy getting his guns together - heard the message and finally locked and loaded his last Desert Eagle before placing his toupee on. He soon felt as though he was suffocating in a tight white tux shirt, a red no-sleeve vest and bow tie, and tight black slacks. He took one look at himself in the mirror before he left, and almost fell backwards over himself. The reflection had a flat, short hairstyle that was combed to one side of his head, a pencil-thin mustache that bordered his upper-lip, and a clean-shaven face that had pale, sissy skin. He sneered at himself and took up the white towel and empty silver tray that he brought with him and walked out of the dark drawing room into the large, brightly-lit banquet hall.

Upon observation, the room was a large, oval shaped room with whitewashed walls and red velvet carpets, one that had a 100' x 100' ballroom dance floor, a ceiling that hung two stories over the heads of the guests and a humongous crystal chandelier that hung from the like. A large walnut table with about fifty or so chairs on either side of three ornate ones stood at the far end of the room, facing the dance floor and large, picturesque window that looked out upon the whole of the British colony. Facing the large table and bordering the large dance floor were hundreds of smaller, round tables with about twenty seats each. Tre had to hide his astonishment and blend in with all the other waiters. Most important, he had to make sure that he secured the rights to serve the royals, else he couldn't administer the poisons that the Gundam pilots and Sailor Scouts had. He quickly sauntered over to the swinging kitchen door to seek out the server who had serving duties over the royals at the moment.

The kitchen was hot and loud, the cooks screaming themselves hoarse at the bumbling servers. Tre looked about the teeming staff, trying to place the face with the server he knew was serving the royals. He couldn't seem to pick the little faggot out, but he heard the guy's name being called. One of the cooks was screaming his head off, calling out:

"Neville! Where the fuck is thot little flamer?"   
Tre felt a nudge as one of the other servers elbowed him, "They're looking for you, Neville!"   
Tre understood now that he was that server now. He had taken the identity of that particular server by chance. He answered back:

"Yes, what do you want, you big monkey?"   
"Git yuhr gaiy ahse over 'ere and pick up dis 'ere order for the princess!"   
"Oh ok, hold your dick in you pants, sexy boy," Tre poked at him, picking up the order and loading it on the silver tray.

The cook looked at him as though he had something sticking out of his head as Tre left. Neville always took those jokes seriously in the past, he thought. Why the sudden change? The cook shook it off though; too many orders coming in to concentrate on it.

Tre went about his work as usual, pulling off the waiter bit with a gay flair as though he were an actor. He scanned the room for the princess, seeing her dancing with Shawn at present. He deliberately bypassed the large table and headed for the nearest couple of Sailor Soldier and Gundam pilot: Lita and Duo. They had been joking heartily about Tre to a fancily dressed elder couple whom Tre assumed consorted with the British. Duo and Lita arrived announced as the Duke and Duchess of the Florida province of Orlando; Duke and Duchess Duo Maxwell - that was a laugh. But it worked out perfectly, because even though Duo was a known Gundam pilot, the title of Duke gave him diplomatic immunity. Also, the records would show (after Heero had massaged it a little with his computer hacking skills) that Duo WAS in fact the Duke of Orlando. Thus, he and his lady could not be touched and were allowed to appear as surviving mourners of Tre Young.

Unfortunately for Tre, Duo was making some wiseass comments the whole night through about how bad Tre's character was and how brutish he was when alive. It was all part of the plan to take suspicion off those who might very well be suspected, but this was taking it too far. Tre passed very near enough to make himself noticed to Duo, who was supposed to pass the poison to Tre during a staged accident scene. Tre passed behind Duo, who at that same moment had tread backwards, therefore making Tre trip and fall, clattering the silver tray and its contents onto the floor. Tre righted himself, calling out indignantly:

"You royal bitch! How dare you interfere with my delivery? Oh, I shall be put to death when the printhess doethn't get her food! What am I to do?"

He bent to pick up the food ("What a mess!") at which Duo - apologizing profusely - stooped to help and slipped the poison's vial into Tre's hand very quickly and unnoticed. Tre had finished picking up the mess and scurried off to the kitchen to get a new dish. After Tre had hurriedly stomped away, the elder duke addressed Duo:

"You stoop to his level and help that insignificant servant? I must say, sir, that he even had the audacity to question you and curse at you. Tell me, how do you put up with it?"   
"I have an old saying that everyone should practice," Duo replied vehemently. "Do unto others as you would do unto yourself."

Tre's parents had arrived looking solemn and depressed, but still hung their heads proudly. The king was busy at the moment talking to a group of advisors on the judiciary, however, he felt it necessary to separate himself form the group to accost the Youngs about his victory over their son. The large man excused himself and sauntered over to them with an arrogant strut in his step.

The elder Youngs saw the king approaching so they turned discreetly to their children and said:

"Keep your tempers in check, but look angry if he has to gloat about Tre, got it?"

They all grumbled their reply as the king closed in on the group's position. Matt and Jade Young stood tall and proud, but with an air of risen defeated. The king smiled as he finally reached them, saying:

"Ah, the Young family! So good to have you here, and I'm terribly sorry to have to be the bearer of your son's death. But, no harm done. You see, I'm trying to give the British people a chance to experience a life of free reign and judgment-" he was cut off.   
"So you conquer other colonies to give their people a chance at free reign?" Matt Young spat peevishly. "You disgust me."   
"Now, now, Matthew," the king chortled. "Times change, people need direction. I provide that direction."   
"You're no king," Anthony said. "You're a dictator!"   
The king laughed, "My dear boy, you are clever! I'd have thought someone would have figured it out by now. Where OZ left off is where I pick up. Now, enjoy yourselves. Oh and Jade, do say hello to our 'daughter'."

Jade Young stared daggers as the king left in a chortling state. The rest of her family gave her comfort, and she shed only one tear. They moved on, trying to find their table.

The princess and her soon-to-be prince were merrily dancing away, drunk in love with each other's gaze as they swiftly waltzed around the large dance floor, oblivious to those around them. Her deep purple gown had a large skirt that swished softly every time she made a deft motion in her steps, the torso part of her gown was secured fast to her body without the luxury of a shoulder support, for the gown also featured a plunging neck line; the topmost portion of the gown barely rose above her swelling bosom.

Adversely, her companion featured a very shiny pair of knee-length black boots, a stunningly white pair of trousers, a deep crimson dress uniform top, and a half-cape that was black satin on the outside and red velvet on the inside. OF course, he had the same platinum blonde spikes and searing green eyes, but tonight his eyes were softer and more affectionate; he loved this woman so.

They were waltzing among the most notable personnel the galaxy had to offer, and they even dared to lock their lips when suddenly a clatter broke them out of their world. They snapped their heads quickly to see what the matter was. A waiter had apparently tripped over a young duke with a long braid and had sent a rather unmistakable dish spilling to the floor. Elizabeth was the only person known to have a deep relish for a sweet chocolate and vanilla marble-frosted Beef Wellington. At that moment, she became utterly incensed.

"Do these waiters have no sense of sight and surroundings?" she spat.   
"I couldn't agree more, love," Shawn said, though he was staring intently at the waiter, for something about his behavior seemed odd. "But, isn't that Neville Turner, the flamboyant waiter?"   
"So what if it is?" Elizabeth hissed.   
"He is usually more careful than that; and ardent professional," Shawn observed as 'Neville' escaped into the kitchen.

The cook was flummoxed to see Neville return with a tray that was so disordered. He literally threw a tantrum right there behind the serving window. He began to curse him out as Neville tossed the ruined marble-frosted Beef Wellington.

"'Ave you lost it!? Are you fucking insane? What the Hell are you doing out there?"   
"Lithen, buster!" Neville spat. "Make another one; some athhole just tripped me on my way to the table."

The cook set to work again, fuming under his breath at Neville. Did he know how hard it was to make a Beef Wellington? He promised that Neville would pay for what he did. He swore to set the little flamer straight when his shift ended.

-One hour later-

The entire assembly of guests and hosts alike were growing impatient as they all waited on their meals, since the king had halted all serving of food until his daughter was served. The latter was resting her furious countenance upon a purple-gloved hand, and drumming her fingers on the table with the other. Shawn had sent several of his envoys to the kitchens to ascertain the status of his bride-to-be's dish. The all came back with estimated times of when it would be ready.

Tre was carefully placing the readily-prepared dish onto a silver dish and was in the process of covering it up when he slipped the small vial of poison out and injected it into the center of the portion. He immediately checked all about him to make sure there were no witnesses and he pocketed the vial swiftly and without notice. He covered the dish with a silver hemispherical cover, and then he carefully performed the same actions with the king's food and Shawn's with different vials. Then, he covered and loaded all the dishes onto his silver tray and announced that he was ready to go and serve the room. The other waiters were then recalled, as they all stood sentinel by the kitchen door in a row. Tre exited while the rest of them entered. Tre received soft applause as he emerged from the kitchen and headed straight for the table where Elizabeth sat.

He approached and snottily held up his nose as he laid his tray on a tray jack. Still holding himself in the same regard, he lifted the poisoned Beef Wellington and the king's dish off the tray and served them accordingly. It was after he served Shawn that Elizabeth commented:

"It's about damn time!"   
"I'm very thorry to inconvenience you, Printheth," Tre said. "Some athhole duke tripped me the first time around."   
"You dare to make excuses, servant?" Shawn hissed.   
Tre, not daring to miss this opportunity said, "Oh, well if that's how it's going to be, Muffy, then we're through!"

The whole of the ballroom sighed a collective gasp of surprise. The king rose threateningly out of his throne chair, staring daggers at Shawn. The latter, to shocked to speak, merely looked at Tre and mouthed, 'What'   
"Oh, come on! You didn't tell anyone we were an item? Jesith, Shawn! You broke my heart for the last time! Eat your damn food!"

With that, Tre pretended to cry as he hurried away to the same drawing room as he had once emerged and removed the toupee, returning to his loose-garbed and dread-headed self. Watching as the king bade everyone be calm and reassure his guests that Shawn was the recipient of a cruel joke, Tre saw the princess and the accused bi-sexual have an argument. Shawn eventually tamed his fiancée and implored her to eat. Tre gave the order:

"Animal House team, Toga One; prepare to crash party."

The moment passed where Pyrone heard and copied the message. He guided the head of Backlash into the correct position to get a clear view through the sight of the large rifle. He honed in on the princess, aiming the crosshairs on her head. Pyrone tensed, waiting for the moment when she would gag and start choking, for only then would he have a clear shot.

Quatre was waiting for the contingency plan to go into action, should the poison fail for some reason. He would squeeze the button on his paging device once for a second, and then release it; this action would signal Mina to pull up to the palace by way of the enormous park behind it that was left unguarded and drive up a makeshift ramp that would shoot her directly into the ballroom/banquet hall. But, Tre had purposely broken the signal device she wore so as to keep her out of danger. She wouldn't be participating in tonight's events.

Quatre watched to his horror as a food tester was called forth to make sure no one was trying to poison the royals, since one of the dishes looked queer to Elizabeth. The dainty gentlemen approached and ate a sliver of each of the three dishes. Quatre pressed the button, knowing that Mina should appear any second now. Nothing happened: no jetbike, no Mina, no gunfire. The tester was bulging in the eyes, and he clutched at his throat, gagging.

Heero was busy on his scan when he noticed a rogue patrol drone - a small flying camera whose purpose was to scan for criminal activity - came awfully close to their position. Heero had no doubt that it would see the Gundams and alert the authorities. It came so close as he heard Pyrone say something about the damned food tester eating the poisoned foods. Heero locked his sights on the drone, his plan to slash at it with the beam saber when it got close enough.

The tester was being helped by the royals, Elizabeth patting at his back, thinking he was choking on a caught piece of food. The king was livid, sending off the guards to find that accursed waiter. Tre drew his Desert Eagles, waiting. He told Pyrone to fire as the curtains to the room were parted and the twin echoing booms tore through the banquet hall.

Trowa had turned Heavyarms' head around to see what Wing Zero was up to when he noticed the drone as well. He had a sudden sense of foreboding as he imagined Heero slashing at it, and all Hell being wrought accompanying the explosion. Just as the food tester passed out with the shock of having received the dose of the poison, Trowa leapt Heavyarms at Wing Zero the instant the beam saber ignited. That action caused the laggard legs of the former to knock Backlash just a blink before he pulled the trigger, which in turn made the rifle fire off target and impact the northern watchtower of the palace, which hit a propane tank within the tower. It exploded violently enough to create a quake that shook the entire palace.

The quake caused the hall to be alive with frightened screams and literally brought the house down. Pieces of ceiling were falling around the guests and Tre was busy firing his guns to subdue the guards. He had just killed two of them when Elizabeth noticed him for the first time. Her visage turned into a foul mask of hatred and anger, and she shrieked,

"GET HIM!!"

Tre was startled by the power of the voice behind the statement, and he wheeled around to look at the source. He too twisted his face into an angry mask and fired off two rounds toward her, but guards around her took the shots and dropped lifeless to the floor. The king was bellowing out orders as another quake shook the castle foundations and brought the entire wall facing the royal's table down. Glass shattered and stones came tumbling down. Shawn looked about in horror as several well-dressed young dignitaries drew weapons and fired at all the guards. The Young family also drew weapons and began to add to the din. Guests that didn't stay rooted in fear ran for their lives, screaming. Tre spun kicked a guard that had dodged his bullets and came in for a close attack. Tre took careful aim at the king with his DE, pulled the trigger, and heard the dry metallic click. He looked at the empty gun, and tried the other gun; it too produced a dry metallic click. Tre tossed the weapons in anger, and drew the shotgun, cocking the beastly gun roughly.

Backlash took careful aim again and tried to plug the king after taking the entire wall structure out. The crosshairs were dead-on the king's chest, the man's face contorted in a purple fury as he barked out orders to reinforcements filing into the room. Meanwhile, Wing Zero and Heavyarms were untangling themselves and joined in the onslaught. Zero unleashed the Vulcan cannons on its shoulders and Heavyarms let loose every Gatling made available on its body. The yellow streaks of tracers lit up the ground below their flight path on the way to the palace.

Mina had noticed that the palace was under immediate attack and froze, stopping the jetbike on the asphalt. She straddled the vehicle, not knowing what to do, horror plastered on her beautiful face. She couldn't do anything, and that scared her. Her friends were in there, taking direct fire from palace guards, no doubt. She had to do some-

Then she had an idea! She fumbled in her pockets for her transform pen, found it, and-

"Venus Crystal Power!"

Once her transformation was complete, she twisted the throttle and shot up the park's length toward the ramp. The jetbike lanced across the open field, streaking over the sheer-cut lawn. The bike hit the ramp, and she shot into the air, sailing toward a smaller window on the side of the ballroom. She ducked her head as the bike impacted the glass, the shards flying everywhere and she saw the fiasco that was unfolding below her as she came in for landing. The bike softly touched down and hovered as Venus started to whip out her Love Chain to disarm the guards.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!"

The golden heart-shaped links shot out from her hand and whipped to and fro, coiling around the MSCZRD-13s and yanking each weapon from the clutches of its owner. A huge collection of the firearms was beginning to pile up around her feet. after the last one had been wrenched away, Venus was caught from behind and held at knifepoint, the cold blade placed right at her throat.

Tre let the first shot go off just as the window at the far side of the ballroom shattered with the entry of a black jetbike and its orange-costumed rider. The spray from the weapon he held impacted the large chairs that his targets had sat in earlier, as they ducked behind them. He strode across the room toward the large table and his targets. His face was still contorted in an angry and fearsome look. His footfalls were heavy and rapid, with the vicious intensity of a man on a life-or-death mission; failure was not an option at this point. As he approached the three chairs, he saw the large, bear like form of King Charles start to rise and swing something at Tre. The young man ducked and clocked the king in the face with the butt of his weapon. Shawn was shielding Elizabeth as the large man hit the ground, a bleeding bruise apparent around his temple. Tre pumped the shotgun viciously, teeth bared and temper hot.

"ON YOUR GODDAMN KNEES, HANDS IN THE AIR!!" he roared.

Shawn obeyed him silently, but Elizabeth fumed with anger at Tre. He glared back just as intensely, his breathing heavy and ragged with rage. After looking around at the several dead guards, or those captured by the Young family and the rest of Tre's friends, she knew that they had been defeated. But this was still the British palace, and she knew reinforcements were on their way. She curled her lips before spitting out,

"I swear to God, Tre Young, that before you hit your next birthday, I will have you tortured and beaten to within an inch of your life. And when I do, you'll beg me for forgiveness, for your life, whatever existence it has left for you!"   
"When that day comes," Tre hissed. "I'll eat my left testicle."   
"That can be arranged," she seethed. "Mark my words, you!"

Tre was just about ready to pull the trigger when he heard the all too familiar cackle of a certain person he loathed more than the Royal Family. He asked the Gundam pilots who it was, not once taking his eyes off Elizabeth.

"It's Sven, Tre," Duo answered.   
"Yes!" the voice said from across the room. "Let them go, or your pretty friend here dies!"

Tre couldn't believe what was going on. He was so close - so close! He could pull the trigger now and it would be all over. But, he would lose the woman he loved again. He couldn't bear to lose her again, not like this. He wished something would happen, something that would just play out in his favor. It came in the answer of a black figure rocketing out of nowhere.

"oh, shit," Pyrone breathed.

He saw through the scope on the rifle what was about to unfold. Heero, Trowa, and Wufei had stopped firing a while ago, seeing as how they might hit their comrades in the process. He saw that several guards lie dead in pools of their own blood, while several others were being held captive by the rest of the Scouts and pilots. Trista held two guards at gunpoint, both were ear to ear, the barrels of the guns pointed toward each other. Duo and Lita managed to hold a guard in ties and bonds. But someone had Sailor Venus at knifepoint, the blade threatening to dig into her delicate flesh and spill her life out of her veins. That someone was Lord Sven Cadgrade.

He had to do something quick, Tre was busy holding the royals hostage. He shoved the rifle into Zero's arms and opened the cockpit door, transforming immediately into mini-Backlash. Off he flew, rocketing at break-neck speed. He crashed through the glass that was left and broadsided Sven just as Shawn lunged at Tre, trying to break the grip on the shotgun. Tre resisted, but barely. He was clearly straining against Shawn's newfound strength. Tre rolled to his right, letting Shawn fall forward with the gun as he deftly produced the knife from his coat. Shawn rounded on Tre, aiming the shotgun, but Tre beat him to the punch.

"Universe Celestial Power!"

The black lightning bolts lanced from the knifepoint and coiled around Tre, engulfing him and transforming him into Sailor Universe. The weaponry appeared on his back, and from that he drew the M16A2-M203. He aimed the rifle at Shawn and both fired simultaneously. The spray from the shotgun was knocked off trajectory by the sonic wave following the round Tre popped off from his round. The bullet flew at Shawn, hitting him dead in the chest and causing a massive spray of bright red blood to erupt from the exit wound; Tre had hit the largest artery in Shawn's body.

Meanwhile, Sven and Backlash MG were locked in a ferocious battle of their own. Sven was currently dodging an onslaught of lightning quick slashes from Backlash's scythe and at the same time was barely dodging the continuous volleys of Sailor Venus attacks. Sven managed to conjure up a fighting staff of his own whilst flying backward away from Backlash's latest swipe. Backlash flew toward him nonetheless, letting forth a battle cry as he attacked. His scythe shaft made contact with Sven's staff, the two grunting in effort to gain the advantage over each other. Backlash spoke to Sven,

"Geroff, laddy! This is one fight you cannot win!"   
Sven laughed darkly in return, "I welcome the day when an insignificant peon such as you can best a dark creature like me! However, I do enjoy a little competition every now and then."   
"Prepare to lose," Backlash said. "Game, set and match belongs to me!"   
"Bring it on, boy," Sven sneered.

Backlash leaned into Sven and then pushed off, leaning far back and staying balanced by rocket assistance while swinging his scythe around himself. Sven, thrown off balance, didn't have time to right himself and then defend the oncoming slash. As he righted himself into balance, he was met with a searing heat that ripped into his side, burning his innards, causing him to yell out in surprise and pain. Backlash yanked the scythe staff back toward himself, hard. This tore the scythe blade through Sven's abdomen, gushing forth his blood and guts, some of the fragments charred black. Sven was mortally wounded, but he still pressed on, swinging the staff at Backlash, but missing, for Venus had thrown him a Venus Love and Beauty Shock. The attack sent the Dark Lord flying into the wall behind him, crashing into the plaster and leaving an imprint of his body as he slid down to the floor, gasping for air.

As for Shawn, the mortal wound he suffered from seemed to heal with immediate speed, as if the cells in his body were acting on overdrive for repairing the wound. Sailor Universe couldn't believe his eyes! This couldn't be happening.

"You like my new power?" Shawn asked.   
"You want an honest answer?" Universe answered, angrily. "I think you're deranged and hopeless."   
Shawn laughed, then said, "More power means more control, Tre Young."   
"I'm not Tre, asscheese," Universe responded harshly. "I'm Sailor Universe, the Sailor Soldier of Shadow and Knowledge, Sworn Protector of the Protectors."   
"Well, now the legend fits, Tre," Shawn said. "Hell on Earth will ensue, I promise you that. You and your puny friends can't do anything to stop me. I now have the Dark Power; I am invincible."

Shawn grinned like a madman, beaming from ear to ear, and he seemed to flex, and then disappeared like a ghost. Universe blinked and saw that Shawn had teleported over to Elizabeth and the king. He deftly scooped them up and disappeared again, this time for good. Universe stood there like a dope, not knowing what else to do. HE looked about, trying to determine where Shawn had gone.

No one around looked even remotely like him, thus confirming his total and complete disappearance. He saw the wreckage that had ensued in the battle, the ballroom looking more like a tornado-damage site than anything else. Stone and glass were everywhere, and the once proud chandelier had at one point crashed to the ballroom floor, into trillions of crystal pieces. The remainder of people present were captured guards, the Young family, the Sailor Soldiers and Gundam pilots. And, the ragged body of Lord Sven Cadgrade sitting limply against the wall in the far corner of the room from Universe.

Universe strode over to the crumpled form of the Dark Lord and passed all his allies, muttering to them orders to kill the captured guards. Some of his allies complied, gunshots going off at odd intervals. As the last one was heard echoing within the remains of the ballroom, Universe came within two feet of Sven. The Dark Lord was drawing ragged and labored breaths, his life barely clinging on. Universe drew his sword and poked it into what was left of his enemy's belly. The latter screamed in agony, but Universe interrogated him.

"What did you do to Shawn?"   
"I (pant) gave him my power (groan) and there's nothing (pant) you can do to stop him," the last words coming out were strained.   
"Why not save yourself?" Universe continued. "Why let yourself die for him?"   
"(Pant, pant) I have no further use," he said. "Shawn is now the vessel by which the Dark Sect will rule all of the universe. I have done my dut-argh!"   
Universe plunged the sword deeper into the wound, "Tell me how I can kill him."   
Sven laughed, coughing at the end, "Never. The Greatest War is about to begin!"

With that, Universe pulled the sword out of his enemy and swung the blade behind him, then deftly sliced Sven's head clean off his shoulders. The now disconnected head rolled along the floor, and the hands on the body fell to the floor loosely, the body went limp. Universe de-transformed into Tre Young, and he rounded to face his family and friends.

"Let's go home."

I hope you all enjoyed that. This is two years in the making, and I just now put the finishing touches on it. The final battle will be on a much grander scale, I swear.


End file.
